After Hormuz, Will Iran Close Another Key Strait?

The US – Israel war against Iran seems to be reaching a tipping point as the deadline announced by Donald Trump is closing on shortly in a few hours. After issuing repeated threats, Trump has announced just a while ago that ‘ A Whole Civilization will die tonight.’ 

Meanwhile, Iran seems to be taking steps to cripple the energy sources further as a retaliatory measure if Trump goes ahead with his plan to hit its bridges and nuclear power plants. Besides planning to counterattack the US – Israel forces, Iran is also considering to target the exports going through some of the important sea points which are under the control of its allies. 

Iran had already blocked considerable chunk of Asia’s energy exports to Europe by choking the crucial sea passage, Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped during normal times. 

According to reports in the international media, Tehran is likely to shut the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route just like it did with the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab-al-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a pivotal maritime corridor for global oil trade.The strait is located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa and connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean.

After Iran placed significant restrictions on Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb started witnessing more traffic as there is a massive surge in the traffic of commercial ships as it provides an alternative route for trading partners. 

If Iran blocks Bab al-Mandeb too, nearly a quarter of the world’s oil and gas supply and a major portion of Asia-Europe trade may face immediate shortage, leading to huge disruption of energy sources. The warning against such a crucial development came from Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and a long-time face within Iran’s foreign policy establishment. 

Many Asian countries including India may face severe consequences if this turns out to be true because the repercussions would not be limited to just energy sectors and the rising fuel prices, shipping delays and supply chain disruptions could impact other sectors as well in the coming days. 

India is already facing the heat of the war in the form of shortage of oil and natural gas. If restrictions are placed on Bab al-Mandeb, the situation might turn worse from bad across the country.