Iranian officials have asked Yemen’s Houthis to block the Red Sea if the United States carries out strikes on Tehran’s energy sites, according to reports by Reuters. Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Houthis have been informed of this request, which was discussed within Iran’s Islamic Republic leadership.

The Houthis are reportedly preparing to attack shipping near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in Yemen’s highlands and are awaiting orders to launch missile and drone attacks. Control over the decision to close the strait will be managed by representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Yemen.

Such attacks on the Red Sea would disrupt two of the Middle East’s main oil export routes, especially while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. The Red Sea carries about 7 percent of the world’s energy supply, with much Gulf region oil rerouted through the Saudi pipeline in the sea. Saudi Arabia has diverted 70 percent of its energy exports through the Red Sea.

The Houthis stated in a Yemeni Armed Forces release, “We affirm that our military operations only target the Israeli and American enemy to thwart the Zionist scheme and do not target any Muslim people.” The group has previously conducted attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, U.S. strikes intensified on Thursday, targeting Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Sources