Yemen’s Houthis threaten Bab Al Mandeb closure
- Calls on Trump to halt policies obstructing peace and regional stability
A senior official in Yemen’s Houthi-run administration has warned that the group could move to shut the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait if US President Donald Trump continues policies they claim are blocking peace efforts.
Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthis’ administration in Sanaa, said in a post on X that if Sanaa decided to close the Bab al-Mandeb, “all of mankind and jinn would be powerless to reopen it.”
He urged Trump and what he called the “complicit world” to immediately halt policies that obstruct peace and to recognise what he described as the rights of the Yemeni people.
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The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, directing shipping traffic towards the Suez Canal.
At its narrowest point, the strait is around 29 kilometres wide, with ships passing through two main shipping lanes.
It serves as a vital route for global trade, carrying significant volumes of crude oil and fuel from the Gulf to the Mediterranean, as well as cargo heading to Asia, including Russian energy exports.
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