Yemen’s Ansarullah Says Closing Bab al-Mandab Possible
The senior official spoke of the possibility of limiting or completely closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait to international shipping.
“If we decide to close Bab al-Mandab, all humans and jinn will be unable to open it,” Hussein al-Izzi said, Al-Masirah reported.
Al-Izzi wrote in a message on the social media network X that if Sana’a decides to close Bab al-Mandab, no party will be able to open it or pass through it.
He also referred to the United States and the international community, calling on them to change their policies towards Yemen and the region and “respect the rights of nations”.
Earlier this week, Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group think-tank, told the Associated Press that the ruling Houthi Ansarullah movement is well capable of escalating the situation in their regional waters nearly a week after a ceasefire was announced to stop the US-Israeli aggression on their key ally Iran.
Nagi said the Yemenis would close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to double the oil price pressure felt by the US because of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
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“If the US moves to impose a blockade on Iranian ports and Iran starts feeling the pain, the Houthis are very likely to escalate in the Bab el-Mandeb,” he said.
The analyst warned that restrictions in Bab el-Mandeb would add “another layer” of pressure on the global shipping industry.
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