Iran urges Houthis to prepare for possible Red Sea oil route closure
A reported Iranian request and Houthi deployments near Bab el-Mandeb could leave the Middle East’s two main oil-export corridors disrupted at the same time.
- Iran has asked Yemen's Houthi movement to prepare to close the Red Sea oil route, specifically the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
- The request is a contingency plan to be executed if the United States were to attack Iran's power infrastructure.
- A source close to the Houthis confirmed they have completed preparations, deploying missiles and drones, and are awaiting an order from Iran's IRGC to begin an attack.
- This potential closure poses a major threat to global energy supplies, as the Red Sea has become a crucial alternative route for oil since the Strait of Hormuz was closed.
The Middle East’s two principal oil-export corridors could be disrupted simultaneously if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is closed.
At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut, deepening the global energy crisis and opening another front in Iran’s wider conflict with the United States.
Three sources told Reuters on Thursday (16 July) that Iran had asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to prepare to close the Red Sea oil route should the United States attack Iranian power infrastructure.
Such a move would create a serious new threat to global energy supplies.
Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter said the proposal had been considered within the Islamic Republic’s leadership before being communicated to the Houthis.
Speaking anonymously, they said the group had been informed recently of Tehran’s request, which had not previously been reported.
The sources did not disclose how the message was delivered or whether it came after US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to attack Iran's power infrastructure.
Iran’s foreign ministry and a Houthi spokesperson were not immediately available to respond to Reuters.
A source close to the Houthis said the movement had completed preparations to attack shipping and was waiting for an order to begin.
Missiles and drones had been deployed near Bab el-Mandeb and in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden, the source added.
Representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were already in Yemen would decide when the Bab el-Mandeb Strait should be closed, according to the same source.
The risk comes amid renewed warfare that has already disrupted the region’s other major energy passage.
Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which handled about one-fifth of global energy supplies before the conflict.
A fragile truce between Tehran and Washington collapsed in June, reviving fears of a full-scale war and further disrupting energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since its closure, a significant volume of Gulf oil has been redirected through a Saudi pipeline towards the Red Sea.
The waterway now carries around 7% of global energy supplies, while Saudi Arabia has shifted 70% of its energy exports through its Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Any direct attack there would present a major problem for oil markets.
During the Gaza war, earlier Houthi attacks on shipping led major operators to divert cargoes around Africa, using a considerably longer and more expensive route.
Tensions have also returned between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni group fired missiles at the kingdom after accusing it of bombing an airport under Houthi control on Monday, ending a four-year truce between the two sides.
Two regional sources close to Riyadh said Saudi Arabia was treating threats from Iran and the Houthis very seriously.
They added that the kingdom knew the Yemeni movement was now coordinating closely with Tehran over the Red Sea.
Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said the escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia had come at a bad time.
He warned that intensified fighting spreading to Red Sea export infrastructure and shipping would threaten the region’s only major alternative route for oil exports.
One regional source said Iran’s clerical rulers were seeking to pressure the United States by increasing the potential cost to the global economy.
Threatening Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil exports through the waterway formed part of what the source called “Iranian thinking”.
The source said closing the Strait would not be difficult, adding: “Anybody with a firing rifle can interrupt the shipping. You don’t have to have sophisticated missiles to interrupt the shipping.”
Iran regards the Houthis as part of its regional “Axis of Resistance”, alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia armed groups that have already joined the conflict between Tehran and Washington.
The Houthis, however, have not formally entered the fighting.
The United States accuses Iran of supplying the Houthis with weapons, funding and training, including assistance channelled through Hezbollah.
Tehran denies the allegation.
Source: Reuters
