Amid U.S.-Iran war, Houthis declare blockade of Bab el-Mandeb : NPR
Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement gather during a rally against what the group says are restrictions imposed by the Saudi-led coalition on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, in Sanaa on July 17.
Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images
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Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Houthis, a Yemeni Shia militia that is aligned with Iran, have announced a naval blockade of a key waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
In a video statement, a Houthi spokesperson said the blockade was in retaliation for strikes from Saudi Arabia on a major airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of hitting the airport while an Iranian official was traveling through it earlier this month.
On Tuesday, MarineTraffic, which tracks vessel movements globally, said two oil tankers have rerouted after departing Saudi Arabia, calling it “the first operational response to heightened security risks in the Red Sea.”
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, and it lets Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest oil producers in the world, get millions of barrels of oil a day out to the open ocean for export.
Bab el-Mandeb has become even more important for Saudi Arabia now that the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed off by the U.S.-Iran war.
Any potential Houthi blockade of the strait would rattle energy markets already shaken by the war in Iran and would likely raise energy prices further.
The blockade would also test Gulf states’ resolve to counter Iran and Iran-aligned groups in the Middle East, including the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia condemned the blockade in a statement. The Houthis said in response that the Saudi kingdom is a “criminal” regime.
The Houthi rebels are designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates have been exploring the idea of building new oil pipelines or expanding existing ones to move oil overland instead of by sea, but those pipelines could take years to build.
U.S. and Iran trade fire — again
The U.S. and Iran traded fire for a 10th consecutive day of strikes overnight.
U.S. Central Command said late Monday it struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Iranian forces targeted three bases hosting U.S. military personnel and equipment in Kuwait last night.
The fighting has now reached a new intensity since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran in February.
The Pentagon on Monday confirmed the identities of two service members killed by Iranian attacks in northern Jordan on Friday and said another still remains missing.
The Pentagon later disclosed a third service member was killed in Iraq.
That brings the death toll of the war in Iran to at least 17 service members killed. The Pentagon says 427 people have been injured to date. Iran’s government says about 3,000 people in Iran have been killed in the war.
But a U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed with NPR that the Defense Department has been slow-walking information on casualties.
Just this week the Pentagon spokesman admitted after questions from journalists that 100 service members have been injured in the last two weeks. He said most of them recovered quickly and went back to work.
Lebanon’s president meets Trump at the White House
A separate ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon is still holding, despite ongoing Israeli strikes on people and sites in Lebanon that Israel claims are Hezbollah-affiliated.
President Trump met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday.
Aoun’s visit comes at a critical time. Israel occupies large parts of southern Lebanon where it is fighting Hezbollah. Under a U.S.-mediated pilot program, the Israelis have begun to hand off some small areas to the Lebanese armed forces. The deal also calls for Hezbollah to disarm.
Aoun is asking for more U.S. support for Lebanon’s government. President Trump said the administration will help “a lot,” without offering specifics.
About 400,000 Lebanese people remain internally displaced, according to a U.N. migration agency, because of the Israeli occupation or destruction of their homes.
NPR’s Quil Lawrence and Michele Kelemen contributed reporting.