Reports on Thursday, July 16th indicate that Iran has instructed its Houthi allies to prepare a military offensive that would close the Red Sea oil route.
The proposed action is intended to reduce U.S. pressure on Tehran by opening a second front in the current conflict, following the breakdown of an earlier ceasefire reached, supposedly, through a Washington-backed ‘memorandum of understanding.’
Already the Houthis are reported to be deploying UAVs near the strategically crucial Bab el-Mandeb strait, which serves as a point of entry to the Red Sea. Such assaults on shipping or commercial waterfront in the Red Sea would disrupt the second of the Middle East’s two main oil export routes, intensifying the current energy price crisis.
Earlier this week, on July 13th, the Houthis launched missiles at Saudi Arabia, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the Kingdom and the Iranian proxy group. Presently the Saudis have diverted some 70% of their energy exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, making them wary of further conflict with the so-called Axis of Resistance.
