Iran tells Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if U.S. hits power network: report
Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three
Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters on Thursday (July 16, 2026), posing a potent new threat to global energy supplies. The idea has been discussed within the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and the message has been conveyed to Iran’s Houthi allies, two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. West Asia war LIVE updates - July 16, 2026 The sources said the Houthis had been informed recently of Tehran’s request, which has not been previously reported. They did not give further details on how it had been conveyed or whether it was after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to attack Iranian power infrastructure on Tuesday (July 14, 2026). Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a spokesperson for the Houthi group were not immediately available to respond to Reuters’ request. Houthis deploy drones near Bab el-Mandeb: sources A source close to the Houthis said the group had completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden and was awaiting the order to begin.
Any threat to the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb gateway risks hugely exacerbating the global energy crisis triggered by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and underscores the explosive risks stemming from a new round of warfare. With the Hormuz strait already shut, any Houthi attacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would leave the Middle East’s two main oil export routes disrupted simultaneously, opening a new front in both the energy crisis and Iran’s wider conflict with the United States. Representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who are already in Yemen will control the decision on when to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, said the source close to the Houthis. In a sign of escalating tensions in the region, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the group. Torbjorn Solvedt, principal West Asia analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said the flare-up between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia had come at a bad time. “If fighting intensifies and spills over into Red Sea export infrastructure and shipping, it will threaten the only major alternative route for oil exports from the region,” he said.
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