TEHRAN, March 15. /TASS/. Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) may block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if a decision is made to provide military support to Iran, an official of the Houthi military forces, Abed al-Thawr said.
"Once the decision to intervene is made, the first measure could be the official declaration of a naval blockade against the United States and the Zionist regime. Merchant vessels and warships, including aircraft carriers, destined for the US soil and the occupied territories (meaning Israel - TASS) could therefore be stopped," he said on Saturday as quoted by Press TV. Abed al-Thawr added that as another measure, the Houthis are considering a complete closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to any ships bound for Israeli ports.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The 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. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.