'There she blows' - Iran's Fars News: "Houthis preparing to shut Bab al-Mandeb strait"(Now).
Houthis could close the vital Bab al-Mandeb seaway and conduct missile strikes on Saudi Arabia.
BEIRUT - As the Saudi-led coalition presses its military campaign against the Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Iranian press outlets have published reports on the Houthis’ purported ability to dramatically escalate the conflict.
Fars News Agency reported Friday that the Houthis were preparing to shut the key Bab al-Mandeb strait linking the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea.
“There are confirmed reports showing that preparations [by Houthi forces] are underway to close Bab al-Mandeb Strait by using ground-to-sea missiles,” the Iranian news agency cited informed sources as saying.
“This defensive scenario has been under study for several months now.”
Fars added that the “takeover of [Mokha] port facilitated [Houthis’] access to Bab al-Mandeb,” in reference to reports earlier in the week that the Iranian-backed fighters had entered the western port town, which is located approximately 70 kilometers north of the strait.
A top US military official stressed Thursday after Saudi Arabia launched its air strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen that Washington would work to ensure the security of the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
“We would work in conjunction with our GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) partners to ensure that those straits remain open,” US Central Command chief General Lloyd Austin told a US Senate hearing.
“It is one of our core interests to ensure that we have free flow of commerce through [Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz].”
As part of the Saudi-led “Operation Decisive Storm,” Egypt has dispatched warships southward to Bab al-Mandeb while two US destroyers have reportedly deployed to the area.
Iranian press outlets have also highlighted the threat of retaliatory Houthi missile attacks on Saudi territory.
A member of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee issued a stark warning to Riyadh, saying the Houthis possessed missiles capable of hitting deep within Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia is well aware that the Yemeni people and armed forces are capable of targeting the military bases of Saudi Arabia at a distance of 500 kilometers inside that country,” MP Mohammad Hassan Asafari told Fars News Agency Friday.
The Houthis seized a number of Yemeni heavy weapon systems during their blistering campaign against government forces, including Yemen’s largest ballistic missile base overlooking Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the US also warned during his Thursday press conference announcing the start of his country’s military campaign that Houthis were in possession of ballistic missiles.
Iran’s Khabar Online news outlet echoed Asafari’s missile warning, publishing an article that the Houthis have the capabilities to strike against Saudi and Western interests across the region.
“Now the Houthis also have the necessary pretext to launch military operations and retaliatory strikes deep inside Saudi territory, in Bab Al-Mandeb, the Red Sea, and even the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a translation of the report prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
“The foremost high priority targets for them are the oil fields, tankers, and industry.” Hmmm.....I see oil prices getting a huge spike.
@MFS001 I don't think Iran would think of closure of the straits. It knows it will bring the anger of the world on it.
— COPTIC NATIONALISM (@DioscorusBoles) March 26, 2015
@DioscorusBoles Yemen is the lock on the outlet. :)
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) March 26, 2015
Update:
Egypt seizes Bab el Mandeb ahead of Iran.. WAR AHEAD? Lead from behind - DEBKA: In a surprise step,... http://t.co/a8HyqjljNP
— Epa Minondas (@WTEpaminondas) March 27, 2015
