Iran's Houthi allies threaten to block the other main oil route

Summary

Yemen-based Houthi rebels vowed to place a "naval blockade" on Saudi Arabia on Monday, a move that could jeopardize another of the world's major oil transport routes and further deepen the fuel crisis that has wracked the world for months. The Houthis, backed by Tehran, said the blockade on the Bab el-Mandeb strait was a response to an "oppressive siege" on Yemen and would start "immediately." Iran had warned Yemeni rebel forces could shut down the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which unlocks shipping access to the Red Sea, if the U.S. continued with attacks on Iranian infrastructure in its ongoing war against Tehran. The U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran for a ninth consecutive night into Monday, while Iran targeted U.S. military sites in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. Iran has for months kept its grip on the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas previously flowed, despite U.S. attempts to pry away Tehran's chokehold on the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Traffic through the strait increased shortly after the U.S. and Iran reached a ceasefire deal last month, but has dipped once again after that agreement fell apart and strikes between the two countries resumed a week-and-a-half ago. The Bab el-Mandeb strait has been an alternative route for shipments not able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Stopping tankers passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait would put further pressure on the global economy, already strained by months of Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. It could slice global oil supplies by roughly 7 percent, according to the Reuters news agency. This would further deepen months of spiked oil prices, chaos in the global markets, travel disruption and concerns among aid agencies that life-saving supplies won't reach vulnerable people, including in the most deprived or conflict-ridden areas. Houthi forces attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea shortly after Israel launched its war on Iran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in October 2023. There were more than 100 Houthi attacks on shipping vessels between November 2023 and October 2025, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration, although the number of strikes on commercial ships dropped by 2025 following a ceasefire deal for Gaza in January that year. The Bab el-Mandeb strait lies between Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea, and because it's used for international transit, states overlooking the waterway can't block passage through the area. Saudi Arabia has for years imposed restrictions on Yemeni airspace, as well as the country's ports and land borders, and is leading a coalition trying to dislodge the powerful Houthi rebels from swathes of Yemen and reinstall a government recognized by the international community in the capital, Sanaa. Saudi jets attacked the main international airport in Sanaa earlier this month, prompting Houthi rebels to fire drones and missiles at a Saudi airport just under 100 kilometers from the Yemeni border. It was the most significant flare-up of fighting between the two neighbors since the rebels inked a truce with the Saudi-backed government in 2022. Houthi rebels called the naval blockade an "an eye for an eye" response. The Houthi announcement on Monday came shortly after both the U.S. and Iran expressed fresh hopes for a peace deal, despite a ninth consecutive night of strikes by both sides into the early hours of Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was still open to a diplomatic solution, and said Iran had indicated to the U.S. it was willing to talk. "When America talks about diplomacy, it means imposition, intimidation, threats, and sanctions," Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Iran has received a proposal via mediators for a 10-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, Reuters reported on Monday, opening a path for negotiations to resume. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao and Robert Greenall