Iran asked Houthis to block Red Sea in case of US strike – media
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Iran has asked the Yemeni Houthi movement to be prepared to block shipping through the Red Sea if the United States strikes Iranian energy infrastructure.
Reuters reports this.
According to the agency’s interlocutors, this issue was discussed with the leadership of the Islamic Republic, after which the corresponding signal was transmitted to Tehran’s allies among the Houthis.
The sources noted that representatives of the Yemeni movement were recently informed of the relevant request, but did not specify how it was transmitted and whether this happened after US President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iranian energy infrastructure.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry and Houthi representatives did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Meanwhile, a source close to the Houthis said the group had already completed preparations for possible attacks on shipping. He said missiles and drones had been deployed near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, and they were currently awaiting orders to launch the operation.
The article notes that any threat to shipping through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could significantly worsen the global energy crisis. If the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, two key oil export routes from the Middle East will be disrupted.
According to a source close to the Houthis, the decision on the possible closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait will be coordinated by representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are already in Yemen.
As the situation escalated, the Houthis launched a missile strike on Saudi Arabia on Monday, accusing the kingdom of attacking an airport they control, breaking a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Yemeni group.
Verisk Maplecroft’s chief Middle East analyst, Torbjorn Solvedt, said that a new round of confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia could pose serious risks to the global oil market.
“If the fighting escalates and spills over to export infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, it would threaten the only major alternative oil export route from the region,” he said.
In addition, two regional sources close to the Saudi authorities reported that Riyadh takes the threats from Iran and the Houthis seriously and believes that the Yemeni movement is currently closely coordinating its actions with Tehran regarding the situation in the Red Sea.
It was previously reported that on the night of July 15, the United States launched a new series of strikes on Iranian military facilities and announced the resumption of a naval blockade of ships heading to or leaving Iranian ports .
It was also reported that Iranian cruise missiles hit two tankers flying the flag of the United Arab Emirates in the Strait of Hormuz . The attack killed one crew member and injured eight others, including two Ukrainian citizens.
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