Bab al-Mandab

Iran’s Houthi gamble at Bab al-Mandab might strengthen Washington - opinion

By deploying the Houthis as a pressure lever, Iran opens a new and highly sensitive front.

|ByHABTOM GHEBREZGHIABHER
MEMBERS OF Houthi military forces parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen. Threatening to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait could end up strengthening Washington, the writer says.
A Houthi protester with a poster of Ali Khamenei demonstrates amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 6, 2026

Iran warns its ready to open new front in Yemen, close Bab al-Mandab Strait with Houthis - report

"The Bab al-Mandab Strait is considered one of the strategic straits in the world, and Iran has the will to produce a completely credible threat against it," an Iranian official told Tasnim.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi in first diplomatic visit to Somaliland on January 6, 2026.

Israel’s quiet gambit on the Red Sea chessboard - opinion

Recognition of Somaliland offers a way to shape the broader strategic environment around the Red Sea.

|ByLIRON ROSE, AMIT SHABI
Beechcraft 350 reconnaissance aircraft.

Germany accuses China of targeting aircraft with laser over Red Sea

Berlin summons Chinese ambassador after incident involving military surveillance aircraft; Beijing denies accusations.

|BySIMON KEJZMAN