The Information Minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government has warned against the plans of the Islamic Republic and the Houthis in the Red Sea, stating that the international community should not mistake a temporary reduction in tensions for the end of the threat, as Tehran continues to use its proxies for leverage and extortion.
Moammar al-Eryani stated that the Islamic Republic is attempting, through the Houthis, to replicate the Strait of Hormuz model in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. According to him, the objective is to weaponize international shipping and commerce to advance Tehran’s political and military goals, effectively holding one of the world’s most critical maritime routes hostage.
Al-Eryani claimed that the Yemeni government possesses “precise and verified” intelligence indicating that the Houthis, under the direction and supervision of the Islamic Republic, are establishing a systematic framework to collect tolls from commercial vessels. He described the initiative as part of a long-term project to convert the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb into a permanent source of funding for war and terrorist activities.
The Information Minister further alleged that experts and advisors from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are directly involved in designing the project’s technical and administrative framework, including the creation of an entity to collect fees from shipping lines.
