The Houthi blockade of Bab al-Mandeb is Iran's hand at work, using a proxy to strangle global oil markets and pressure Saudi Arabia into submission. With over 70% of Saudi crude now moving through the Red Sea, even sporadic attacks can effectively shut down a critical chokepoint — and Tehran knows it. The U.S. must lead a multinational coalition to keep these waterways open, because letting Iran dictate terms on international shipping sets a catastrophic precedent.
Saudi Arabia's own blockade on Yemen and its attack on Sanaa airport triggered this crisis, and the Houthis are simply responding in kind. Closing Bab al-Mandeb to Saudi-linked vessels is a direct consequence of Riyadh's years of economic strangulation of Yemeni civilians. The real threat to global shipping isn't Houthi retaliation — it's a regional policy that keeps Yemen trapped while Saudi Arabia hides behind international law it never applied to itself.
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