Iran instructed today (Thursday) Yemen’s Houthi rebels to prepare to block the Red Sea oil supply route if the United States chooses to attack Iranian electricity infrastructure, Reuters reported.
According to the report, the regime’s leadership in Tehran held discussions on the issue and conveyed the message to its Houthi allies. A source close to the Houthi group confirmed that the group has completed operational preparations, including deploying missiles and drones at strategic points overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and is now awaiting an order to execute.
Since the start of the fighting in February and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has become the main route for the transport of crude oil. Today, about 7% of the world’s energy supply passes through it, including about 70% of Saudi Arabia’s energy exports, which are piped to the port of Yanbu.
A regional source stated that “any person with a rifle can disrupt shipping”, and that sophisticated technological capability is not required to paralyze maritime traffic in the region. If the plan is implemented, it will be a simultaneous disruption of the two main oil routes in the Middle East, a step that will lead to a dramatic increase in prices and the worsening of the global economic crisis.
Direct Iranian involvement
The final decision on the timing of the operation in the Red Sea is given by the representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards staying in Yemen. At the same time as the growing tensions, the Houthis recently broke the four-year ceasefire with Saudi Arabia, after mutual exchanges of fire, a step that indicates the opening of additional fronts in the region.
Although Iran denies involvement in arming and training the Houthis, international officials emphasize that the coordination between the parties is closer than ever. The American administration recognizes the move as part of Tehran’s attempt to exert economic pressure on the West within the broader campaign between the parties.