While the US and Iran are locked into a struggle over the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s oil passed through prior to the current conflict, Iran’s proxies in Yemen, the Houthi rebels, are threatening to close the narrow Bab el-Mandab Strait, whose name means “Gate of Tears” in Arabic, which links the southern Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, a week after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian-proxy group on July 20 declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and its ports, opening a new front against the U.S.