The Houthis threaten: "We will turn Bab al-Mandab into the new Hormuz"
The Yemeni Foreign Minister stated that the Houthis aim to replicate the Iranian model from the Strait of Hormuz in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. She added that the Houthis rely on the "weak international response" to attacks on merchant ships and wish to continue escalating tensions in the Red Sea.
Afrah al-Zuba, the Foreign Minister of Yemen, said on Wednesday in a conversation with journalists at the Yemeni embassy in Riyadh that "the Houthis aspire to replicate the Iranian model from the Strait of Hormuz and implement it in the Bab al-Mandab Strait." According to her, the Houthi organization, supported by Iran, draws its confidence from the international response, which she described as "not serious enough," regarding the attacks against commercial shipping in recent years.
In this context, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted a foreign diplomatic source who said that attempts to curb the escalation and prevent a military deterioration in Yemen are encountering difficulties, given the Houthis' insistence on demands regarding "lifting the siege" and finding economic solutions. According to him, the tension in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait "will continue, from the Houthis' perspective, as long as Iran wants it to."
At the same time, Iran announced that it rejects outright the compromise proposal from Oman to regulate the movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz using a joint mechanism. In Tehran, they insist on continuing to maintain strict supervision over all shipping lanes. Oman proposed a temporary outline of equal division, according to which one entry lane would be under the control of one country, and the exit lane under the control of the other country. However, in Tehran, they were quick to reject the formula, claiming that it does not provide an adequate response to the "national security concerns" of the Islamic Republic.
The Iranians raised a counter-demand, according to which one shipping lane would be entirely within their territorial waters, while the second part would also pass partially through their territory. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, even explicitly threatened that if Oman rejects the proposal, the Strait of Hormuz will remain completely closed.
Two days ago, the Houthi military spokesman announced that "the armed forces attacked, using UAVs, sensitive points on the crude oil supply route from eastern Saudi Arabia to Yanbu." This comes against the backdrop of the warning by the spokesman for the Yemeni government's armed forces, Abda Majali, against the continuation of "the attacks by the Houthi terrorist militia against merchant ships and their threats to the security of the Red Sea and the freedom of international navigation."
In an interview with the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Majali claimed:
"These attacks reflect the militia's affiliation with the Iranian project, which aims to undermine the national security of Yemen and the region and threaten international interests."
He further added: "The armed forces of Yemen, under the guidance of the political leadership, continue in coordination with the coalition to support legitimacy to deter the Houthi terrorist threats, secure the shipping lanes, protect the freedom of international navigation, and fight Houthi terrorism — viewing this as a national responsibility and a permanent commitment to protecting the security of Yemen and the region and maintaining international peace and security."
