BlockBeats report, on April 14, according to the WSJ, Arab officials revealed that Saudi Arabia is pressuring the United States to abandon its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and return to negotiations. Saudi Arabia’s primary concern is that Iran may retaliate by using the Houthi militants to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—a critical chokepoint in the Red Sea that serves as Saudi Arabia’s sole lifeline for oil exports should the Strait of Hormuz be sealed.
Saudi Arabia has already shifted the majority of its crude oil exports from Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, with current daily exports of approximately 7 million barrels, nearly restoring pre-war levels. However, if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait were also blocked, these supplies would face direct threats.
On April 5, Iran’s Supreme Leader’s foreign policy advisor, Velayati, publicly stated that Iran views the Strait of Mandeb "the same way it views the Strait of Hormuz," warning that global energy and trade flows "can be cut off with a single signal." Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency also explicitly stated that a U.S. blockade could prompt Iran to shut down the Red Sea passage.
Meanwhile, the Houthi militants, who control large stretches of coastline near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, are a ready-made tool for Iran to carry out this threat. Barak Barren, a Yemen expert at the Washington-based think tank New America, said: “If Iran truly wants to block the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Houthis are clearly the partner—and they have already demonstrated their capability.” Arab officials have warned that if Iran increases pressure, the Houthis may become even more aggressively involved in the conflict, potentially beginning to levy fees on passing vessels. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 9.3 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait daily before the Gaza war; that number has since been halved due to Houthi involvement.