Claims of a Red Sea move by Iran

It has been alleged that Iran has asked its Houthi allies in Yemen to be prepared to close the oil shipping route in the Red Sea in response to a possible US attack on its energy infrastructure.

Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter, speaking to Reuters, stated that the plan in question was discussed at the level of the Iranian leadership and that the request had been conveyed to the Houthis. It remains unclear whether the claim emerged before or after US President Donald Trump's threat on Tuesday that he could target Iran's energy infrastructure.

There has been no official statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry or the Houthi movement regarding the matter.

CLAIMS OF PREPARATIONS AROUND BAB AL-MANDAB

A source close to the Houthis claimed that the group has deployed missiles and drones capable of attacking ships around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the entry points to the Red Sea. The source argued that preparations are being made in Yemen's Hodeidah region and in the highlands overlooking the Gulf of Aden, and that the group is waiting for orders to act.

According to the same source, the final decision on when to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait will be under the control of representatives of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stationed in Yemen.

One of the developments increasing tension in the region was the Houthis firing a missile at Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing an airport they control. This attack effectively broke the four-year ceasefire between the parties.

In the process that began with Israel and the US attacking Iran on February 28, Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the global energy supply passes. Tensions have risen again with the collapse of the fragile ceasefire reached between Washington and Tehran in June.

Possible Houthi attacks on ports or ships in the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is closed bring to the fore the risk of simultaneous disruption to the Middle East's two major oil export routes.

Torbjorn Solvedt, lead Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, pointed out that if export infrastructure in the Red Sea is damaged, the only other major alternative oil route in the region would also be under threat.

News Source: 12punto