The Houthi movement in Yemen announced the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, citing the ongoing war with Saudi Arabia. A senior Houthi official stated that any vessel attempting to transit without prior coordination with the Yemeni armed forces and payment of a transit fee will be targeted with missiles and drones.
The Houthi movement in Yemen has announced the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, one of the world's most vital maritime chokepoints, according to a statement circulated on Thursday afternoon. A senior Houthi official quoted in the announcement said the closure is a result of the ongoing war with Saudi Arabia, and warned that any vessel attempting to transit without prior coordination with the Yemeni armed forces and payment of a transit fee would be fired upon with missiles and drones.
The Bab el-Mandeb strait serves as the southern gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and is a critical route for Israeli shipping through the port of Eilat. The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of Yemen, has a history of targeting vessels in the Red Sea and has previously threatened to block the strait, as The Zioneer has reported.
The announcement has not been independently verified, and it remains unclear whether the Houthis have the capability to enforce a total closure of the strait or whether this is primarily a political statement. No reports of actual attacks on shipping have been confirmed at this time.
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Open-source intake