Houthis threaten to close key waterway amid escalating rhetoric
Apr 20, 2026
Cairo [Egypt], April 20: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have threatened to close the Bab Al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, a crucial global shipping route, amid escalating rhetoric between Tehran and Washington.
The waterway connects Europe with Asia via the Suez Canal, one of the most important international maritime trade routes. "If Sanaa [Yemen's capital ruled by Houthis] decides to close the Bab Al-Mandeb, then all of mankind and jinn will be too helpless to open it," Hussein Al-Ezzi, a senior Houthi official, said in a post on X late on Saturday.
He called on US President Donald Trump to immediately stop "all peace-obstructing practices and policies." The Yemeni militia is part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, a network of pro-Iran regional armed groups.
Late last month, the Houthis entered the US-Israeli war with Iran, launching multiple attacks on Israel. But the militia stopped short of renewing its attacks on shipping in nearby trade waterways. The Houthis had repeatedly attacked merchant ships in the past in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Source: Qatar Tribune
