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Houthi official says Bab al-Mandeb may be closed
19 April 2026 05:32 BST
A senior official from Yemen’s Houthis warned that the group could close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait if US President Donald Trump continues what he described as obstructing peace.
Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in Sanaa, wrote on X: “If Sanaa decides to close the Bab al-Mandeb, then all of mankind and jinn will be utterly powerless to open it.”
“And therefore, it is best for Trump - and the complicit world - to immediately end all practices and policies that obstruct peace, and to show the respect required for the rights of our people and nation,” he said.
The Bab al-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a key shipping route for global trade, particularly oil and other fuels moving between the Gulf, Europe and Asia.
