Panicky Iran announces tankers on fire in Strait of Hormuz as Houthis impose Saudi naval blockade
Bab el-Mandeb is a narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass. Any serious interference at Bab el-Mandeb, coming after months of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, would raise the prospect that both of the region’s major oil export routes could be shut simultaneously.