The Houthis’ participation in the Middle East conflict could put the region’s oil exports and shipping at even greater risk.
The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed for a month. The Houthis could threaten another important barrier, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Houthis join Iran war
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have announced their entry into the Iran war, saying they launched a ballistic missile against Israel on Saturday. CNN’s Jim Schutt explains what this means for the region’s major shipping routes.
The Bab al-Mandab is translated as the Gate of Tears because of its difficult navigation. It is 29 kilometers (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
More than 30 million tons of natural gas passed through the Strait in the first 11 months of 2023, as well as a huge amount of container shipping and 12% of all oil traded by sea, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
However, after Israel launched military operations in Gaza following the October 7 attack, the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea. More than 100 ships were attacked before the Houthis declared a cessation of attacks last November.
These attacks forced hundreds of ships to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing the time and cost of their voyages.
Mohamed Mansour, deputy minister of the Houthi intelligence ministry, said in a text message to CNN last week that closing the chokepoint was a “viable option.”
An Iranian official warned the country’s semi-official Tasnim News that if the US military attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it “must be careful not to add another strait to its agenda…Iran is well prepared to escalate the situation.”
With traffic through Hormuz severely restricted, Saudi Arabia has begun rerouting oil exports to the west coast port of Yanbu via a pipeline that can handle 7 million barrels per day. As a result, tanker traffic in the Red Sea has skyrocketed.
