Houthi control of Bab al-Mandab Strait poses new threat to global economy

The grip of Iran-allied Houthi rebels on the narrow sea passage between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, a vital route on the shortest maritime link between Asia and Europe, has sparked fears of rising oil prices and shipping costs. Between pipeline attacks and control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Iran's allies have begun targeting new infrastructure critical to global trade just as the pressure from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf had started to ease. In just a few days, Yemen's Houthi rebels seized the coastal city of Mokha and several islands in the Red...