Iran threatens to restrict Bab el-Mandeb Strait after Trump warnings

After the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, another crucial regional waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is now at risk of disruption.

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-filled threats against Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, after American forces rescued a wounded aviator whose Iran-downed plane fell behind enemy lines.

Iran struck energy infrastructure targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries over the weekend and threatened to restrict the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Arabian Peninsula.

The 32-kilometre-wide Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. About 12% of the world’s trade typically passes through the strait.

It also is one of the busiest routes for global oil trade. The strait carried about 4 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, according to the US Energy Information Agency.

Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through Bab el-Mandeb.

In a post on X, a top Iranian official said “the Resistance front views Bab al-Mandeb as it does Hormuz. If the White House dares to repeat its foolish mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single move.” The term “Resistance front” could refer to Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the Palestinian territories

There are growing concerns that the Houthis could start attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Iran is closely allied with the Yemeni rebel group.

Disrupting transit through Bab el-Mandeb forces shipping firms to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, as they did in 2024 and 2025, significantly increasing costs.