Satellite view of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a vital trade route linking the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Suez Canal, and Mediterranean.
Gallo Images | Orbital Horizon | Getty Images
Houthi militants in Yemen on Monday declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia effective immediately, threatening to exacerbate the oil supply disruption triggered by Iran’s attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait is a chokepoint for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets.
The militants, in a statement carried by state news, accused the Saudis of laying an “aggressive siege” against them. Tensions escalated last week after they claimed that Riyadh had bombed Sanaa International Airport.
The Saudis have diverted million of barrels of oil per day through a pipeline to an export terminal on the Red Sea. Those exports have acted as a crucial relief valve for global oil markets during the U.S.-Iran war.
A closure of Bab el-Mandeb would block in those barrels, exacerbating the disruption triggered by Iran’s attacks on tankers in Hormuz. Crude oil prices, however, were little changed after the Houthis declared the embargo.
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