Houthis are ready to help Iran by attacking oil tankers in the Red Sea, writes “The Times“.
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea remains the only option for oil transit in the region.
The “Times“ newspaper commented that when Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement after succeeding his assassinated father, the Iranian supreme leader praised the “brave and loyal“ Houthis from Yemen - one of two militias in the “Iranian axis of resistance” that have not yet intervened in the war in the Middle East. The other - “Hamas” in Gaza, has been all but destroyed as an offensive force after three years of war with Israel. The Houthis, on the other hand, have emerged as Iran’s most powerful ally in the region and may not remain passive for long as the Islamic Republic fights an existential battle.
Iran’s strangling control over oil supplies in the region has restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of two sea lanes through which a third of the world’s oil passes. The other, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, remains open, with dozens of tankers converging off the coast of Saudi Arabia to load oil diverted from the east. But the tankers, which are gathering near the Saudi port of Yanbu, are in the crosshairs of the Houthis, who are just around the corner.
„Times“ Ahmed Naghi, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, is quoted as saying that “the Houthis are just waiting for a sign from Iran.” “I think it’s a calculated choice. Ultimately, the Houthis see this as an escalation not just against Iran but against the entire axis. If Iran is weakened, they will be the next target,” the analyst added.
The UK has warned Israel against a ground offensive in Lebanon, where the humanitarian situation is already very worrying, and has called for meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese officials to negotiate a sustainable political solution, Sky News reported.
A joint statement by the UK, along with Canada, France, Germany and Italy, called on the Israeli government to seek “immediate de-escalation” with Lebanese officials. The allies also called for an end to the "unacceptable" attacks targeting civilians.
This came in response to the announcement that the Israel Defense Forces had launched a "ground maneuver" to try to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of "Hezbollah". However, the joint statement explicitly stated that "a significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences and could lead to a prolonged conflict".
British officials said that the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, including the ongoing mass displacement, was already deeply worrying. Sky News recalled that Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict on March 2, when the Iranian-backed group "Hezbollah" attacks Israel in response to the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.