Iran-backed Houthi rebels threaten blockade
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
with David McCullough on RTÉ Radio 1. To the Middle East now, where a new frontier has opened in the US-Iran war following the announcement yesterday by Yemen's Houthis that they will impose an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. A spokesperson for the Iran-backed group said the move was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen. To take a closer look at this new phase of the war...
What triggered the Houthi announcement of a Red Sea maritime blockade?
I'm joined in studio by Chris Reynolds, former director of the Irish Coast Guard and former head of the EU crisis mission to Somalia. Chris, good morning to you. Thanks for coming in. Good morning, David. Not a surprise, really, because Iran has been pushing for this for a while.
No, they declared last week that they would, if America kept on bombing them, they would activate the Houthis again. And it seems they have. Houthis are dependent on the Iranians for their weapons and for their training and everything.
OK. And they're talking about a blockade along the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. So please explain to us where that is and why it's important.
OK. As you come in from the Indian Ocean, you pass through the Red Sea. And the Red Sea on the right is Yemen and on the left is Somalia. And then you turn up into the Gulf of Aden. And sorry, you turn up into the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, excuse me, back to front. And that's only about 32 kilometres across. And that turn is called the Bab al-Mandeb. So it's a very narrow choke point, very similar to, as you see, happening on the other side of the European Gulf.
Okay. So, and this is a very, very important passageway for world oil supplies.
Indeed. At the moment, it's only Saudi Arabia being threatened. It's not the rest of the world's supplies. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of oil from that area, from the port of Yambu up in the Red Sea. They have exporting normally about 40 million barrels per day. Now they're exporting 7.5 million barrels per day to make up some of the shortfall. If that is cut off, particularly if it's cut off to China and India, that is a major problem.
Okay, now you spent years operating in that region. I did. This is entirely doable for the Housies, isn't it?
Oh yeah, they have Iranian missiles, they have fast attack craft. And really with shipping, because of insurance issues, etc. All you have to say is, we're going to attack you if you try to pass. And that should be enough to deter shipping going past it. Because as you saw this morning, Iran has sunk a ship.
How are the Houthis connected to Iran and why does that matter?
And no shipping owner... In the Strait of Hormuz. In the Strait of Hormuz. No shipping owner will want to put their ships at risk. So it will cut off that 7.5 million barrels. Some will go up... go out right from Yambu up to the Suez Canal into Europe. But that passing out left down into India and China, that has to go through Baba Bandib.
OK, does China have any influence here? Because I presume Iran needs China on side, doesn't it?
I always thought the solution to this problem would be China. I've said it many times that China is the key to unlock this. China has hedged enough oil to get them to the winter, but that's all they have. So they need to have this fixed sooner because once it's fixed, it's going to take a long time before back to full production. So China also has heavy interest in the ports in Africa, in Dar es Salaam, in Mombasa, in Djibouti. They own Djibouti, practically own that country. So they have very, very definite interest in fixing this. And I'm surprised they haven't been more active.
Okay. The Houthis have done this before? Yes.
Where is the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and why is it strategically important?
They did it at the start of the Gaza war. The Houthis are called the Houthis because the leaders of the Houthis are... the Houthi family. But they're a different sect to the Saudi Arabians who are Sunnis. They're Shia. And so they've no love for the Saudis and they've been at war with Saudi. At the start of the Gaza conflict in support of Palestine, they cut off shipping. They sank about four ships. And they killed about, I think, a little under 20 sailors during that period.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:28
2
What triggered the Houthi announcement of a Red Sea maritime blockade?
0:28–2:36
3
How are the Houthis connected to Iran and why does that matter?
2:36–3:44
4
Where is the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and why is it strategically important?
3:44–6:35
5
How could a Houthi blockade impact Saudi oil exports and global supply?
6:35–6:47