Iran and its allies in Yemen are reportedly planning to shut down the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital global shipping chokepoint [1].
Control over this waterway would allow Tehran and its regional partners to disrupt the flow of international commerce. Because the strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, any closure would force ships to take longer, more expensive routes around Africa.
A top adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said, "Iranian allies could shut the Bab al-Mandab shipping route" [1]. This threat leverages the position of Houthi forces in Yemen to create a strategic alternative to the Strait of Hormuz [2].
The Bab al-Mandab is a narrow passage located between Yemen and Djibouti [1]. By threatening this specific geography, Iran seeks to increase its geopolitical leverage amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. and other regional rivals [1, 2].
Such a closure would impact two main oil export routes [3]. The potential for disruption has raised concerns among global markets that rely on the steady movement of energy, and goods through the Red Sea corridor [1, 3].
Tehran has historically used maritime threats to signal its resolve to the international community. The current focus on the Bab al-Mandab suggests a shift toward utilizing Yemeni proxies to exert pressure far from Iranian shores [2].
“Iranian allies could shut the Bab al-Mandab shipping route.”
The threat to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait represents a strategic expansion of Iran's 'gray zone' warfare. By utilizing Houthi proxies in Yemen, Iran can disrupt global supply chains and energy markets without engaging in a direct military confrontation with the U.S. Navy. This creates a dual-chokepoint threat—Hormuz in the east and Bab al-Mandab in the west—giving Tehran significant leverage over the global economy to extract diplomatic or political concessions.
