ROME, March 30. /TASS/. Houthi rebels from the Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement could block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, bringing oil prices to $200 per barrel, Mohammed Mansour, deputy information minister in the Houthi government, said in an interview with the Italian media outlet InsideOver.

"Europe must also understand that if it continues to show hostility towards the Axis of Resistance (mostly Shia armed units allied with Tehran - TASS), we will make sure that oil prices go up to $200 per barrel, which will strangle the European economy," Mansour stated.

"We could block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, cutting off the shipping lanes to Suez. We have unlimited missile supplies and no ship will travel between Asia and Europe without our permission," he added.

Earlier, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles at military facilities in southern Israel. The movement said that the rebel-formed armed forces planned to continue attacks until aggression against Iran and its allies ended.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit.

Iran’s authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuze to ships associated with the US, Israel and the countries that supported aggression against Tehran. Since the start of the conflict, a number of tankers have been attacked for trying to pass through the waterway without Iran’s permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arachchi announced that the country was allowing passage through the Strait of Hormuz to vessels from friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China and Pakistan.