Iran Tells Houthis To Close Bab El-Mandeb Strait If US Strikes Power Plants

Iran has told the Houthis in Yemen to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States carries out President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges, Reuters reported.

The request was discussed by the leadership of Iran, and it has now been conveyed to the commanders of the Houthis, the report said. The final decision on whether to take action against shipping in the strait will be taken by representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) based in Yemen.

According to a source close to the Houthis, they have already positioned missiles and drones near the waterway in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden and are waiting for the order to start attacking commercial vessels.

The threat comes at a volatile moment in the broader US-Iran conflict. A ceasefire that was agreed on June 17 has essentially collapsed with the two sides trading strikes for several days in a row.

Trump briefly floated then dropped a proposed 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the US Navy to re-impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump went further in the rhetoric in a Fox News interview. “Next week they get into really bad because next week is the power plants. Next week the bridges, he said, adding that US forces would “knock out” Iran’s power plants and bridges unless Tehran returned to the negotiating table. He said he would “leave the energy targets to last”, but added the US would meet them in the end.

If they attack Bab el-Mandeb, it would open a second maritime front on top of the Strait of Hormuz, which is still mostly closed to traffic.

According to maritime trade analytics firm Kpler, around 7% of global oil production passes through Bab el-Mandeb. Any disruption there would simultaneously affect the two main oil export corridors of the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has already started redirecting crude from the Gulf, shipping it across the kingdom through an east-west pipeline for export from Yanbu Port on the Red Sea. That work-around would itself be exposed if the Houthis moved against Red Sea shipping.

Separately, tensions have also risen between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in recent days, after Saudi strikes on Sanaa airport prompted the Houthis to fire missiles at Saudi airports.

Whether Iran ultimately gives the order may matter less than the threat itself. Some analysts argue that simply keeping the option credible gives Tehran leverage over Washington without requiring an actual attack.