Iran-Backed Houthi Terrorists Threaten to ‘Ban’ Israel from Red Sea

The declaration from the Yemeni insurgents represents a significant escalation in regional tensions, according to Breitbart News, with Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree warning that any escalation would be answered in kind.

Saree confirmed that Houthi operations would intensify based on battlefield developments and pledged coordination with what he termed the axis of jihad and resistance, a reference to Iran’s network of terrorist organizations operating throughout the Middle East region.

The spokesman declared that hostile movements by the enemy would be treated as valid military targets for Houthi armed forces, adding that their campaign would persist as long as what they characterize as aggression and siege against them and their allied resistance movements continues.

Missile Strikes on Central Israel

Yahya Saree also confirmed that Houthi forces launched missile attacks against central Israel, claiming the strikes were retaliation for Israeli military actions in Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. The Yemeni militants stated they hit what they described as important targets in the occupied Jaffa area, their term for the region surrounding Tel Aviv, with precision strikes.

The Iranian proxy group appeared to be following Tehran’s lead, as Breitbart News reports, with Iran having launched its own missile barrage against Israel in response to Israeli operations targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Houthi missiles triggered the first of multiple air raid alerts across Israel on Monday morning, followed by subsequent salvos from Iranian territory.

Red Sea Shipping Disruption

The Houthis conducted extensive terrorist operations against commercial shipping in the Red Sea throughout the 2023-2025 Gaza War, imposing substantial economic costs on global maritime trade by forcing vessels to reroute around the horn of Africa. The Yemen-based insurgents had threatened to resume identical tactics following the United States and Israel launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran in late February, but refrained from action until this announcement.

In late March, Houthi forces warned they would close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical global shipping chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Maritime traffic through this route has surged since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, particularly oil tankers carrying Saudi crude oil, as Saudi Arabia maintains pipeline infrastructure enabling redirection of petroleum exports to Red Sea ports.

Dramatic Increase in Oil Transit

Ship tracking service Kpler documented that oil volumes passing through the Bab el-Mandeb nearly doubled between February and April, rising from 3.9 million barrels per day to 7.2 million barrels per day.

Chatham House research fellow Farea al-Muslimi told the New York Times that the Houthis possess the capability to effectively blockade the Bab el-Mandeb with minimal effort. He suggested that even a single terrorist attack against vulnerable tankers or cargo vessels would be sufficient to trigger widespread panic among insurance providers, potentially leading to a simultaneous shutdown of both the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab shipping routes.

With information from Breitbart News