By blocking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now signaling that it could play its most dangerous card: using Yemeni Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and threatening two of the world's most vital energy arteries. This is reported by Reuters, informs UNN.
Details
The publication notes that as U.S. strikes deepen inside Iran and Houthi attacks simultaneously escalate, Tehran is expanding the conflict and seeking to increase pressure on Washington by spreading the threat to global trade and energy supplies beyond the Persian Gulf.
Iran has already demonstrated the power of its most valuable strategic asset by disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Now it appears ready to open a second pressure point at Bab el-Mandeb, a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a significant portion of global shipping pass
It is indicated that a senior Yemeni official warned that the country's armed forces are ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a step that, he said, could lead to oil prices rising to $200 per barrel — if Saudi Arabia continues to attack Yemen.
Recall
The United States has reinstated a naval blockade of vessels heading to and from Iranian ports. The blockade resumed after President Trump's statement about U.S. actions as guardians of the Strait of Hormuz.