Iran’s Houthi Allies Lie in Wait on Another Key Oil Route: the Red Sea

The group’s secretive leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said earlier in March that his fighters stand with Iran and are ready to escalate when required.

“There is broad consensus that the Houthis are still awaiting direction from the Iran-led Joint Command of the Axis of Resistance,” said Mohammed al-Basha, founder of U.S.-based Middle East security advisory Basha Report.

“One view is that they are deliberately delaying action in order to preserve this option for zero hour, either as a knockout card that advances their interests or as a source of leverage in future negotiations,” he said.

https://archive.ph/dcmk6#selection-1109.91-1121.220

Oil prices in for more shock - what could happen if the Houthis of Yemen close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait?

Bab al-Mandeb Strait crisis: Nearly 8.8 million barrels of oil per day and about 10–12% of global maritime trade pass through the Bab al‑Mandeb Strait — a narrow shipping corridor that has suddenly become the next flashpoint in the escalating Middle East crisis.

With tensions already high around the Strait of Hormuz, the possibility that Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement could block Bab al-Mandeb is sending shockwaves through energy markets and global supply chains. ..

https://archive.ph/gjoxl#selection-1063.0-1097.106

On the one hand, Iranian power plants. On the other hand, the Houthis.

Still, this is mostly an issue rerouting. If the strait is closed, tankers will have to take a much longer route which will add to costs and delays. Already, many tankers are doing just that.