Houthi Attacks on Bab el-Mandeb Raise Fears of Second Strait of Hormuz Crisis
Houthi Attacks in Bab el-Mandeb Strait Kill Six as Shipping Threats Escalate
Houthi forces killed six people Tuesday in attacks on the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah and subsequent rescue operations in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Yemeni and Pakistani officials. The fatalities mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the U.S.-Iran war began on Feb. 28, Reuters reported.
Casualties and Attacks on the Tihamah
Four crew members—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—died during the initial attack on the Tihamah, Yemeni and Pakistani officials stated. The Yemen Coast Guard reported that two Yemeni rescuers were killed when Houthi forces launched a second strike after rescue crews arrived on the scene. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, located between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, serves as the critical link between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, connecting commercial shipping to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.
Strategic Risks and the ‘Second Hormuz’ Comparison
The escalation has led to strategic comparisons between the Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz. While Iran directly threatens shipping from its own coastline at Hormuz, Fox News reported that Tehran’s influence over Bab el-Mandeb is mediated through its Houthi allies. This geographic difference is compounded by Yemen’s internal fragmentation. The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north, while the Saudi-backed government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) control other regions.
Amr Al Bidh, the STC’s foreign affairs chief, told Fox News Digital that naval forces are capable of defending individual ships but cannot eliminate the threat posed by Houthi-controlled land. “Naval presence protects individual ships. It does not take away Houthi launch sites, it does not interdict the smuggling routes that resupply them and it does not hold terrain,” Al Bidh said, adding that securing the strait requires a presence on the ground.
Regional Escalation and Naval Blockades
The attacks follow a July 20 declaration by the Houthis of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, targeting vessels conducting business with Saudi ports. Riyadh has denied the legitimacy of this blockade. The Houthis have further warned they will use missile and drone attacks to shutter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if Gulf nations join the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg informed the Security Council on Thursday that Yemen faces its most serious threat of returning to large-scale war since a 2022 U.N.-brokered truce. Grundberg warned that these renewed attacks on commercial vessels risk drawing Yemen deeper into a wider regional conflict. While the formal truce expired in October 2022, large-scale hostilities had remained limited until the recent surge in maritime strikes.
The current impasse in Iran war talks coincides with these renewed shipping attacks, according to Reuters.