Abed Mohammed al‑Thawr, a Houthi military adviser, said in an exclusive interview with AFP that any U.S. naval presence or effort to “take control of Bab al‑Mandab” would cross a red line for the movement, prompting them to “fight over it” and consider American assets in the region legitimate targets.
The Houthis, backed by Iran, captured the narrow Bab al‑Mandab shipping lane in September, effectively blocking one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has reportedly asked the United States and other allies for military assistance to counter the Houthi blockade, a request that al‑Thawr said would further justify attacks on U.S. interests.
Al‑Thawr warned that if the United States “gambles on supporting Saudi Arabia with airstrikes or air support,” the Houthis would “consider any American interests around us to be targets and we will not exclude anything,” adding that they could close Bab al‑Mandab completely to American ships.
The adviser also reiterated the Houthis’ broader hostility toward Saudi Arabia, noting that the group has already launched drones and missiles at Saudi sites, including the capital Riyadh, and that they possess “sufficient capability to discipline Saudi Arabia, punish it, and force it out of the game in the fields of oil and the economy.”
While the Houthis acknowledge a friendly relationship with Iran, al‑Thawr stressed that Tehran does not issue directives to the Yemeni movement, describing the alliance as “one alliance and one body” but emphasizing the Houthis’ independent decision‑making.
The United Nations warned on 22 September that displacement in Yemen could rise from over 130,000 to more than 230,000 people in the coming months as fighting intensifies, underscoring the humanitarian stakes of the escalating conflict.