After Hormuz, Iran threatens to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
After Hormuz, Iran threatens to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
2026-07-15
Shafaq News – Follow-up
Media outlets confirmed on Wednesday that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened to close “all other export routes that benefit the United States and its allies,” after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and Washington reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted the Revolutionary Guard as saying in a statement that the region’s energy exports “are either for everyone or for no one.”
According to Reuters, analysts said that Iran is hinting that it may resort to its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait leading to the Red Sea, which threatens to open a new front against Washington and threatens two of the world’s most important energy arteries.
The strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a large share of global shipping pass.
A senior Houthi official confirmed on Monday that the group is prepared to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a move he said could send oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel if Saudi Arabia continues its offensive in Yemen, according to a report published on the website of Iran’s Press TV.
The Houthis launched missiles at Saudi Arabia last Monday, after accusing the kingdom of bombing Sanaa airport, breaking a four-year-old ceasefire in the conflict between Riyadh and the Iranian-backed group.
shafaq.com
