Houthis Threaten Second Vital Oil Route in Major Middle East Escalation
In a dramatic escalation of the Middle East conflict, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have threatened to cripple the global economy by blocking a second crucial oil shipping route. The warning came on Saturday following a missile attack on what the group described as 'sensitive' Israeli military sites, marking a significant intensification of the month-long war.
Threat to Global Shipping Routes
The Houthis' military leaders announced they are considering closing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, an 18-mile-wide waterway known as the 'Gate of Tears' in Arabic that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. This route has served as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut down in recent weeks.
If both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb Strait are compromised, the impact would extend far beyond the Middle East region, disrupting global supply chains, energy markets, and shipping costs worldwide. Approximately ten percent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, including a fifth of the world's container traffic and car shipments, along with ten percent of crude oil.
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, described the Houthis entering the US-Israeli war on Iran as 'very significant'. He noted: 'We have seen over the past two and a half years that the Houthis have significant power. If they decided to move to shut down the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and, ultimately, the Suez Canal, we would have two major choke points [closed] along with the Strait of Hormuz.'
Strategic Importance of Shipping Lanes
The Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb Strait are geographically distant but operationally interconnected. While the Strait of Hormuz handles about twenty percent of the world's oil, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait controls sea traffic toward the Suez Canal. If Hormuz is compromised, oil struggles to leave the Gulf region. If Bab al-Mandeb is blocked, oil struggles to reach European markets. A simultaneous blockade of both would effectively break the shipping route end to end.
Mohammed Mansour, the Houthis' deputy information minister, stated on Saturday: 'We are conducting this battle in stages, and closing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is among our options.'
Broader Conflict Developments
As the conflict entered its fifth week, multiple developments unfolded across the region:
- Approximately 24 American troops were injured in an Iranian strike on a military base in Saudi Arabia
- An Israeli missile strike killed three journalists in Lebanon
- A foiled bomb attack on the Bank of America's Paris headquarters was linked to Iranian proxy groups
- The same group claimed responsibility for an arson attack on Jewish charity ambulances in North London last week
- Iran claimed to have destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in the United Arab Emirates
Ibrahim Jalal, a senior researcher on Yemen and the Gulf, described the threat to shipping around Yemen as 'very alarming, especially when it's compounded by a coordinated multi-strait blockade.' He told Al Jazeera: 'This is exactly the theatre that Iran has been preparing for from what we have seen in the past few years with the Houthis.'
Houthi Capabilities and History
The Houthis, an armed political and religious group that has held Yemen's capital Sanaa since 2014, declare themselves part of the Iranian-led 'axis of resistance' against Israel, the United States, and the wider West. They have previously demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping during the Israel-Hamas war, causing chaos in the Red Sea where billions of pounds worth of goods pass annually.
Between 2023 and 2025, Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two ships and killing four sailors. During this period, ships transiting through the Suez Canal fell dramatically from 26,000 to 12,700.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi announced earlier this month that his organization is prepared to become involved in the ongoing conflict across the Middle East. Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, the Houthis' military spokesman, stated that air strikes would continue until 'the aggression against all fronts of the resistance ceases.'
International Implications and Analysis
Dr Burcu Ozcelik, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, commented on the situation: 'The Houthi factor was always a question of when, not if. They remain a significant lever for Iran, but they will make their own calculations on how far to take escalation.'
She added: 'The more serious threshold would be renewed disruption in the Red Sea, with wider international consequences – and possibly pressure on the UK and other states to join the counter-Houthi effort alongside the US.'
The conflict has already affected civilian life beyond the immediate region, with hundreds of thousands of families in the United Kingdom reportedly planning staycations instead of international travel due to the crisis. Meanwhile, a former oil company executive suggested that British ministers should consider enforcing driving restrictions amid concerns about an impending fuel supply crisis.
In a separate development, former US President Donald Trump is said to have privately floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz the 'Strait of America' or even after himself, though this remains unconfirmed by official sources.
