Iran has told the Houthis in Yemen to get ready to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States targets Iranian power plants, news agency Reuters reported on Thursday.
Tehran has instructed the Houthis, which control vast swathes of Yemen, to be prepared if the United States attacks Iranian power infrastructure, creating a serious new threat to the world's energy supplies.
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The closure of the vital waterway has been deliberated among the Islamic Republic's leadership, and the message has been communicated to the allies in Yemen, sources told the news agency.
BIG: Iran has instructed Yemen's Houthis to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the U.S. attacks Iranian power infrastructure.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 16, 2026
The Houthis are said to have deployed missiles and drones near the strategic waterway and are awaiting orders.
Source: Reuters
The report did not elaborate on how it was communicated or whether it was in response to US President Donald Trump's Tuesday threat to target Iranian power infrastructure.
A source close to the Houthis told Reuters that the group had finished preparing to target shipping by using drones and missiles close to Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea, in Yemen's highlands with a view of Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden.
Any threat to the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb gateway highlights the explosive hazards associated with a fresh round of fighting and runs the potential of significantly worsening the global energy crisis brought on by Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
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