\nA Houthi protester with a poster of Ali Khamenei demonstrates amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 6, 2026 (credit: REUTERS\/KHALED ABDULLAH)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Opening a new front?<\/h3>\n Some diplomats and analysts say the Houthis are awaiting an opportune moment to enter the conflict, in coordination with Iran, in order to exert maximum pressure.<\/p>\n
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz to Gulf Arab hydrocarbon exports and a shift to heavy reliance on the Red Sea might provide such an opportunity.<\/p>\n
Iran could open a new front in the Bab al-Mandab Strait if attacks are carried out on Iranian territory or its islands, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim cited an unnamed Iranian military source as saying on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Houthis previously launched attacks in the region. Bab al-Mandab, or the Gate of Tears, named for its perilous navigation conditions, is the southern outlet of the Red Sea, situated between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.<\/p>\n
It is one of the world’s most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or the SUMED pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.<\/p>\n
The Bab al-Mandab is 18 miles (29 km) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments.<\/p>\n
After the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which triggered a devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the Houthis began firing on international shipping in the Red Sea, saying it was in support of the Palestinians.<\/p>\n
The Houthis, a military, political, and religious movement, ceased their attacks following a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they see Iran is needing them the most then they will move,” Amr Al-Bidh, a member of Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council’s senior leadership, told Reuters in Geneva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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