Iran Reportedly Asks Houthis to Prepare Red Sea Closure if US Strikes Power Grid

Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to be ready to shut down the Red Sea shipping route through the Bab el-Mandeb strait if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, according to three sources who spoke to Reuters on Thursday.

Details of the Request

Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter said the idea has been discussed among Iran’s leadership and has already been communicated to the Houthis. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the message was passed along recently, though it’s unclear whether this followed US President Donald Trump’s Tuesday threat to strike Iranian power infrastructure directly. Iran’s foreign ministry and a Houthi spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Houthi Preparations Near Bab el-Mandeb

A source close to the Houthis said the group has finished positioning missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden, and is now waiting for the order to begin operations. The same source said representatives from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, already present in Yemen, will be the ones deciding when any closure action begins.

Risk to Global Energy Supply

The Strait of Hormuz is already closed following earlier Iranian action, and any disruption to the Red Sea route would mean the Middle East’s two primary oil export corridors are blocked at the same time. This would significantly deepen the existing global energy crisis and mark a serious expansion of the conflict between Iran and the United States.

Regional sources say Saudi Arabia is treating the threat seriously, given the scale of disruption a Red Sea shutdown could cause to international shipping and oil flows. The situation adds a volatile new dimension to an already escalating confrontation in the region.