Senior Houthi official says Bab el Mandab closure an option if any Gulf states join war
Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour also said the strait could be closed “should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate.”
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WASHINGTON — The Houthis could move to close the Bab el Mandab strait should any Gulf countries participate in US and Israeli strikes against Iran, a senior official for the group told Al-Monitor.
“We bear a religious, moral and humanitarian responsibility that precludes us from standing idly by,” Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour said in a March 31 interview over WhatsApp.
“The option of closing the Bab el Mandab strait is a Yemeni option that can be implemented should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate savagely, or if any Gulf state becomes directly involved in military operations in support of the [Zionist] entity or the United States,” Mansour said.
