TL;DR
The Houthis have not closed the Bab al-Mandab strait but have not withdrawn the threat — a second chokepoint closure would isolate the Red Sea entirely.
MSM Perspective
Reuters included the Houthi threat in its daily Yemen brief without analysis of what a second closure would mean.
X Perspective
X's shipping community is pricing Bab al-Mandab risk into insurance premiums even without a closure — the threat alone is costing money.
Houthi leadership reiterated on Thursday that Bab al-Mandab — the strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden — remains "under consideration" for closure in solidarity with Iran. No closure has occurred. No new military action has been taken. But war risk insurance premiums for Red Sea transit have climbed to 3.2 percent of cargo value, up from 0.4 percent before the Hormuz crisis. The threat itself functions as a toll. [1]
A Bab al-Mandab closure would isolate the Red Sea entirely, forcing Europe-Asia shipping to route around the Cape of Good Hope — adding 10-14 days and $1 million per voyage.
-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem
Sources & X Posts
News Sources