ByREUTERS

JULY 16, 2026 15:24

Updated: JULY 16, 2026 16:01

Iran directed Yemen's Houthi organization to prepare for blocking the Red Sea oil pathway should the United States target Iranian power facilities, three sources informed Reuters on Thursday. This move creates a serious new risk to global energy supplies.

The plan received discussion inside the Islamic Republic leadership and reached Iran's Houthi partners through two senior Iranian sources plus one regional contact familiar with the issue who spoke anonymously.

The sources indicated the Houthis learned of Tehran's request recently in a development not reported earlier.

They offered no extra specifics on the delivery method or timing relative to US President Donald Trump's Tuesday warning about striking Iranian power infrastructure.

Iran's foreign ministry and a Houthi spokesperson could not respond immediately to Reuters inquiries.

Houthis Position Drones Near Bab El-Mandeb, Insider Reports

A contact close to the Houthis stated the group finished readying strikes on shipping by placing missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea gateway, in Yemen highlands above Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden while awaiting launch orders.

Any danger to the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb gateway could sharply worsen the global energy crisis from Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure and highlight the severe risks of renewed warfare.

With the Strait of Hormuz already closed, Houthi strikes on Red Sea vessels or ports would disrupt the Middle East's two primary oil export routes at once and open another front in the energy crisis plus Iran's broader conflict with the United States.

IRGC representatives already in Yemen will decide when to close Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to the Houthi contact.

Showing rising regional tensions, the Houthis launched missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of striking an airport under their control on Monday, ending a four-year truce in the kingdom-group conflict.

Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, observed the Houthi-Saudi flare-up arrived at an inopportune moment.

"If fighting grows and reaches Red Sea export infrastructure and shipping, it will endanger the sole major alternative route for regional oil exports," he said.

Two regional sources near Riyadh said the kingdom views threats from Iran and the Houthis seriously and knows the Yemeni group now coordinates closely with Iran on the Red Sea.

The conflict started February 28 when Israel and the United States hit Iran, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the prior main route for about one-fifth of global energy supplies.

Tensions rose after a fragile June truce between Tehran and Washington broke down, reviving full-scale war fears and disrupting energy flows through the Strait.

Insider Notes Red Sea Closure Would Prove Simple

A large share of Gulf oil has moved to the Red Sea via a Saudi pipeline, and the waterway now handles around 7 percent of global energy supplies.

During prior Houthi shipping attacks in the Gaza war, major carriers rerouted cargoes around Africa at greater length and cost.

With Saudi Arabia routing 70 percent of its energy exports via its Red Sea port of Yanbu, direct strikes there would also create major oil market issues.

One regional source said Iran's clerical leaders aim to pressure the United States by raising potential global economic costs through threats to Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil flows, describing it as part of "Iranian thinking."

Closing the strait would prove straightforward, the source added: "Anybody with a firing rifle can interrupt the shipping. You do not have to have sophisticated missiles to interrupt the shipping."