Roughly 7% of global energy supplies pass through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and Tehran has reportedly told its Yemeni allies to be ready to shut it. Reuters reported on July 16, 2026, citing three sources, that Iran asked the Houthis to prepare to close the strait if the United States hits Iranian power infrastructure.
Two of the sources were senior Iranian officials. The third was a regional source. All three said Tehran discussed the plan internally before passing the message to the Houthis.
Missiles in place
A source close to the Houthis told Reuters the group has already put missiles and drones near the strait, in Yemen’s highlands, and is waiting for orders to strike ships. The timing of any closure would not rest with the Houthis alone. Revolutionary Guard representatives already in Yemen would decide when it happens, according to the Reuters account.
The message came as President Donald Trump threatened Iran’s power plants. Long War Journal analyst Bridget Toomey dated that threat to a July 14 interview. Reuters said the exact sequence of events was ambiguous.
Iran had already shut the Strait of Hormuz. Taking the Red Sea route out of play as well would hit both main oil export corridors in the Middle East at once. Saudi Arabia has been sending about 70% of its energy exports through Red Sea ports, and Toomey noted that it rerouted shipments along an east-west pipeline to Yanbu. Kpler, a maritime analytics firm, put the share of global oil output moving through Bab al Mandeb at roughly 7 percent in June.
What the experts say
Whether the Houthis could actually seal the waterway is another matter. Nadwa Al-Dawsari of the Middle East Institute told Fox News they might fall short of a full blockade but could still badly disrupt traffic. She listed “missiles, drones and sea mines” among their weapons, and said the group kept building its arsenal even though it largely stayed away from maritime attacks over the past year.
She also read the order as Tehran’s call. “Any decision to escalate in the Bab al-Mandab would be strategic and tied more to the interests of Iran and the Axis of Resistance than to Houthi interests alone,” Al-Dawsari said.
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen, was more pointed about the risk: “It will be interesting if the Houthis do go all in, and resume their campaign against Red Sea shipping with full intensity.” Earlier Houthi campaigns showed the cost. Repeated attacks, or credible threats of them, pushed major shipping companies to send vessels around Africa, which raised insurance, fuel and freight costs.
A tense Yemen backdrop
Saudi-Houthi relations were already fraying. Toomey wrote that on July 13 Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa International Airport to stop a flight from Tehran, carrying a Houthi delegation to the funeral of Ali Khamenei, from landing. Houthi leader Abdulmalik al Houthi answered on July 16: “The real equation is Sana’a Airport for Riyadh Airport, airports for airports, ports for ports.” He warned that every Saudi oil facility was a target for missiles and drones.
The State Department said Washington has sanctioned more than 200 entities tied to the Houthis and remains committed to freedom of navigation. No closure had been announced when the reports appeared.
Sources
- Iran tells Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if US hits power network, sources say (Reuters, via TBS News)
- Iran Calls on Houthis to Prepare to Cut Off Red Sea Gateway (Fox News)
- Iran reportedly tells Houthis to close Bab al Mandeb Strait if US strikes power grid (FDD's Long War Journal, Bridget Toomey)
