Shipping via Hormuz disrupted, Iran could tell Houthis to shut Bab al-Mandab: Why the narrow waterway matters
Iran has told Yemen's Houthi rebels to be ready to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait if the US strikes Iranian power infrastructure.
Bab al-Mandab is a 32-km-wide strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
Closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, alongside disruptions at the Hormuz waterway, would leave only the route around Africa for shipping between Asia and Europe.
Brent crude rose roughly 12% to around $85 a barrel due to disruptions to about a fifth of the world's oil shipments.
Iran's central military command warned it could target all infrastructure in the region if the US attacks Iranian infrastructure.
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Hindustan Times
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