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

Iran has instructed Yemen's Houthi rebels to be ready to shut down the Red Sea oil route should the United States target Iranian power infrastructure, according to three sources speaking to Reuters. This potential move introduces a significant new threat to global energy supplies.

The directive has been discussed among Iran's leadership and communicated to the Houthi allies, with sources indicating the Houthis were recently informed of Tehran's request. The timing of this message remains unclear, but it follows U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to strike Iranian power facilities.

“

Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure

A source close to the Houthis stated the group has finalized preparations to disrupt shipping. Missiles and drones have been deployed near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a crucial gateway to the Red Sea, overlooking 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 could severely escalate the global energy crisis. Combined with existing disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, this would simultaneously impact the Middle East's two primary oil export routes, opening a new front in the energy crisis and Iran's broader conflict with the U.S. Representatives of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, already present in Yemen, are expected to control the decision to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

“

The group had completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, in Yemen's highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden and was awaiting the order to begin.