The Jerusalem Post: The Bab al-Mandab Card Prevented Gulf Involvement in the War

The Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported that the Yemeni armed forces managed to prevent the Gulf states from joining the American-Israeli war against Iran by using the Bab al-Mandab card. Their threat to close the strait is conclusive evidence that this could explain the Gulf states’ lack of military response to Iranian attacks on American bases in the region.

The newspaper asserted that the Yemeni armed forces’ threat to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, in light of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, is likely one of the reasons for the Gulf states’ lack of military response to Iranian attacks. Meanwhile, the Sana’a leadership stated that the Yemeni armed forces would refrain from attacking Saudi Red Sea ports as long as Riyadh did not join the United States and Israel in attacking the country.

For his part, prominent leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council, said that there was no intention to target any Islamic country except in response to the aggression against Yemen. He added that the Yemeni armed forces’ objective was to prevent the use of the Red Sea for military purposes against any Islamic country, in an apparent reference to Tehran.

Although direct Yemeni attacks on Israel are less effective than those by Hezbollah and Hamas, the missile launches could inflict enough damage to prompt Riyadh to reconsider this threat. Given that Israel has already suffered hundreds of Iranian attacks, Riyadh is likely keen to avoid potentially costly damage to its airports, oil facilities, and government buildings.

The Hebrew newspaper argued that the Saudis know their own interests best, citing the 2019 attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities. It added that this was one of the reasons Saudi Arabia pursued a diplomatic path with the Yemenis and attempted to resume diplomatic relations with Iran, with China’s assistance.

The newspaper warned that expanding the conflict could also draw the Horn of Africa into the war. The United States has military bases there, and Israel’s relationship with Somaliland could endanger the country.

However, closing the straits would harm many countries in the region and would inevitably exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, potentially leading to a situation even worse than during the Saudi-led war.