NEW YORK, April 13. /TASS/. The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) may close the Bab el-Mandeb if Iran feels the pain from a US naval blockade, said Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst at International Crisis Group, a Washington-based think-tank.
"If the US moves to impose a blockade on Iranian ports and Iran starts feeling the pain, the Houthis are very likely to escalate in the Bab el-Mandeb," Associated Press (AP) quoted him as saying. The closure would put more pressure on the global shipping industry, the analyst warned.
On April 2, Deputy Minister of Information in the Houthi government, Mohammed Mansour, said that Ansar Allah is considering closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa in the event of a broader escalation against Iran and Lebanon by Israel and the United States or if any Gulf state becomes directly involved in military operations in support of Israel or the United States. The closure of the waterway would inevitably trigger an energy crisis, pushing oil prices up to $200 per barrel. On April 7, the United States announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Iran and the United States held several rounds of talks in the Pakistani capital on April 11. The Iranian delegation was led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, while Vice President JD Vance headed the US delegation. Both Tehran and Washington said following the negotiations that no agreement on finding a long-term solution to the conflict had been reached due to a range of disagreements.
Later, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the US military will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13.