🔶 Bab al-Mandab threat; Iran’s new front against global trade

🔻A report by Amir Sultan Zadeh

The threats by Iran’s allies against one of the vital shipping routes in the Red Sea have increased concerns about further disruption to global trade. Iran has previously effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz and prevented the normal departure of maritime traffic from the Persian Gulf. Now, however, Tehran’s main regional allies are threatening to activate another maritime front on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed group that controls parts of Yemen, including Sana’a, have announced a “naval blockade” against Saudi Arabia in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab—an waterway that connects the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to the Suez Canal. If this action expands, it could take the crisis beyond the level of clashes between Iran and the United States, and bring Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan, and even European countries into the equation with greater intensity.

The Strait of Bab al-Mandab lies between Yemen on the Arab side of the Red Sea and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side. Maritime traffic coming from the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden must pass through this passage in order to access the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. With a length of about 115 kilometers and an approximate width of 36 kilometers, after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the strait became one of the essential links of trade between Asia and Europe.

The Strait of Hormuz, which is now effectively blocked due to war, has a key share in the transit of the world’s oil. Bab al-Mandab is a complementary route that has become especially more important since the increase in insecurity in the Persian Gulf. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has needed this corridor more than before in order to transfer oil from its eastern fields to Yanbu port in the Red Sea and then export it via Bab al-Mandab. Therefore, any threat against this route directly affects Saudi Arabia’s alternative routes for circumventing the Hormuz crisis.