Iran-aligned Yemeni militant group Houthis on Sunday threatened to shut the Bab al-Mandeb strait if US President Donald Trump obstructs peace. Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al-Ezzi warned that the group may close the narrow waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen.
"If Sanaa decides to close the Bab al-Mandeb, then all of mankind and jinn will be utterly powerless to open it," he wrote in a statement on X. "And therefore, it is best for Trump—and the complicit world—to immediately end all practices and policies that obstruct peace, and to show the respect required for the rights of our people and nation."
Bab al-Mandeb is a key shipping chokepoint that channels sea traffic towards the Suez Canal. It is 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments.
It is one of the world's most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and other fuels from the Gulf to the Mediterranean, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.
During the Gaza war, the Houthis disrupted shipments in retaliation for Israeli actions, causing a spike in oil and shipping freight rates.
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