Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Houthi allies in Yemen have threatened to disrupt shipping by potentially blocking the Bab al-Mandab strait.

This threat targets a critical maritime chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Any successful blockage would jeopardize global energy supplies and force international shipping to seek longer, more expensive alternative routes.

An IRGC official said regional energy exports are "either for everyone or for no one."

According to reports from March 2024, the IRGC has warned it could use the Bab al-Mandab as its next front in the war with the U.S. This strategy would likely rely on the IRGC's Houthi allies in Yemen to physically block the shipping route, a VOA analyst said.

Iran states the move is intended to pressure the U.S. and assert its influence over regional energy flows. The escalation comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to rise, a dynamic that has historically led to maritime skirmishes in the Gulf region.

While the IRGC has not specified a date for such an action, the warning signals a willingness to expand the geographic scope of its conflict with the U.S. The Bab al-Mandab strait is one of the most sensitive transit points in the world, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

“Regional energy exports are 'either for everyone or for no one.'”

The threat to block the Bab al-Mandab strait represents a shift toward asymmetric maritime warfare. By leveraging Houthi proxies in Yemen, Iran can disrupt global trade and energy markets without engaging in a direct state-on-state naval confrontation, effectively using a global economic chokepoint as political leverage against the U.S.