Iran threatens to close Red Sea gateway if US strikes power grid: Report

After the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea route is at the risk of being shut down. Iran in a latest warning has threatened to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power networks.

According to three sources privy to the matter and as reported by Reuters, to disrupt the new chokepoint, Iran asked Yemen’s Houthis movement to stand ready and this message has been conveyed to Iran’s allies.

The report comes after the US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iranian power infrastructure on Tuesday.

According to a source close to the Houthis, the group has finalized preparations to target maritime shipping. This includes the deployment of missiles and drones across Yemen's highlands, specifically in areas overlooking Hodeidah, the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and the Gulf of Aden, with forces now awaiting final orders to commence operations.

The closure of Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb gateway along with persistent closure of Strait of Hormuz has sent shockwaves across the energy markets, raising fears of a worsening global energy crisis and expansion of Middle Eastern conflict.

As per the sources, the decision to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb strait is completely controlled by the IRGC who is already in Yemen.

On Wednesday, IRGC issued a warning, threatening to “close all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies.”

“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the IRGC said in ‌a statement.

According to experts, the closure of the Red Sea will bring disastrous consequences. Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said, “If fighting intensifies and spills over into Red Sea export infrastructure and shipping, it will threaten the only major alternative route for oil exports from ‌the region.”

The sources believed that Red Sea shutdown would not be difficult, citing, "Anybody with a firing rifle can interrupt the shipping. You don't have to have sophisticated ⁠missiles to ​interrupt the shipping.”

The gateway carries 7 percent of global energy supplies. Approximately 10-12 percent of all international trade passes through this waterway annually.