7 Things You Need to Know About the Bab al-Mandeb Strait - That Trump Probably Doesn't
As the Iran war continues, and Donald Trump escalates, the Houthis in Yemen say they’ve closed the world’s oil escape hatch – welcome to the ‘Gate of Tears.’
Donald Trump’s war in Iran was supposed to be winding down. It is not – and things could get much worse soon, with news that Iran’s allies are planning to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis.
In recent days, Trump has expanded strikes to target civilian infrastructure inside Iran. Iran has answered by targeting Gulf infrastructure and formally exiting the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, a development that Trump said he “couldn’t care less” about.
Now, Tehran’s allies in Yemen have opened a second front at sea on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. On Monday, the Houthis – the Iran-backed rebel group that controls northern Yemen, including its coastline above the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – declared a maritime embargo against U.S. ally Saudi Arabia “effective immediately,” asserting that the Bab al-Mandeb is now closed to Saudi maritime traffic.
If the Houthis close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, it could send oil prices soaring to new levels.
Here are 7 things you really should know about the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that could dominate our headlines in the coming days…