Yemen's FM-Designate Warns Houthis Aim to Mirror Iran's Hormuz Control at Bab al-Mandeb

Yemen's foreign minister-designate Afrah al-Zouba warned that the Houthis seek to replicate Iran's Strait of Hormuz leverage by consolidating control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Speaking in Riyadh on 28 July 2026, she said coordinated dominance over both chokepoints could interdict gateways into the Gulf and the Red Sea — a corridor carrying roughly 30 percent of global container traffic with no alternative route.