Iran asks Houthis to close Red Sea if US hits power network, sources say

Iran has instructed Yemen's Houthi movement to stand ready to block the Red Sea oil route should the United States launch attacks on Iran's power infrastructure, according to three sources familiar with the matter. This potential escalation poses a significant new threat to global energy supplies.

Discussions about this strategy have occurred within Iran's leadership, and the message has been relayed to the Houthi allies, two senior Iranian sources and a regional source confirmed. The sources indicated that the Houthis were recently informed of Tehran's request, which has not been previously disclosed. Details regarding the method of communication or whether the request followed U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to attack Iranian power infrastructure were not provided.

A source close to the Houthis stated that the group has completed preparations to disrupt shipping by deploying missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical gateway to the Red Sea. This strait overlooks Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden. The group is reportedly awaiting orders to commence operations. Any disruption to the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb gateway risks severely exacerbating the global energy crisis, which has already been impacted by Iran's previous closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Such actions by the Houthis, combined with any potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, would simultaneously disrupt the Middle East's two primary oil export routes, opening a new front in both the energy crisis and Iran's broader conflict with the United States. Representatives of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are present in Yemen, are said to control the decision-making process for closing the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The situation is further complicated by recent missile attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, breaking a four-year truce.