ADEN: Yemen’s Houthi movement, whose attacks on the Red Sea caused international shipping and trade chaos during the Gaza war, stands ready to strike the key waterway again in solidarity with Tehran, one Houthi leader said, a move that would deepen a global oil and economic crisis brought on by the Middle East war.
If the Houthis open a new front in the conflict, one obvious target would be the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, a key shipping chokepoint and narrow passageway that controls sea traffic toward the Suez Canal, following Iran’s effective closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s allies in Lebanon and Iraq have joined the war in the region unleashed by US and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
But Houthis, heavily armed and capable of striking Gulf neighbors and causing major disruption to maritime navigation around the Arabian Peninsula, have not yet entered the fray.
“We stand fully militarily ready with all options. As for other details having to do with determining zero hour, they are left to leadership, and we are monitoring and following up with the developments and will know when the suitable time is to move,” said the Houthi leader.
