Red Sea–Strait of Hormuz “Dual Blockade” Becomes Reality... War with Iran Grows More Difficult

[Financial News] Following Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have strengthened their control over the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, presenting another obstacle to U.S. operations against Iran.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Al Jazeera and other outlets on the 11th local time, the Houthi rebels moved south from the Yemeni port city of Mokha to Dubab and Murad along the Red Sea coast before seizing Perim Island, also known in Arabic as Mayyun Island, a strategic point in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
Perim Island lies at the narrowest point of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, between the African continent and Yemen. Occupying the island provides a strategic advantage that effectively allows control over vessels entering and leaving the Red Sea.
Using Perim Island, the Houthi rebels will be able to monitor maritime traffic in the Red Sea more closely and threaten vessels in the region without relying on long-range missiles and drones.
As Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States, attempt to retake the Red Sea coast, any move by the Houthi rebels to fully control vessel traffic through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait would inevitably affect the U.S.-Iran front as well.
Since a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war with Iran was scrapped in July, the United States has resumed intensifying airstrikes on Iran around the Strait of Hormuz while operating an undisclosed safe corridor south of the strait, escorted by U.S. forces.
The Wall Street Journal assessed, "The Houthi expansion complicates the U.S. offensive against Iran," adding, "Control of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait gives Iran's ally the ability to threaten another major maritime chokepoint following the Strait of Hormuz."
The newspaper predicted, "As the U.S. military struggles to break Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, pressure will mount to protect shipping in the Red Sea as well."
Analysts say oil prices could surge as crude oil supplies through the Red Sea, a second transportation route, decline further.
 


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