Al-Alimi warns against turning Bab Al-Mandab into ‘another Hormuz’

Yemen's President Rashad Al-Alimi warned against transforming the Bab Al-Mandab Strait into a new Hormuz, in order to prevent the country from becoming a platform for geopolitical pressure serving Iran. This warning came during a meeting with EU and Dutch ambassadors, where Al-Alimi discussed the latest Houthi escalation that took place around the Bab Al-Mandab and the western coast of Taiz province.

The Yemeni leader denied initiating the escalation, instead accusing the Houthis of returning to hostilities, including attacks on civilians, displacement camps, the port of Mokha, and civilian facilities. Al-Alimi emphasized that Yemen's defense of the Bab Al-Mandab, its coastline, and territorial waters is vital not only for the country's sovereignty and security but also for safeguarding international security and one of the world's most crucial maritime corridors.

He called for a more effective international partnership to bolster Yemen's capacity to protect this strategic waterway. Al-Alimi linked the current Houthi escalation to Iran's broader pressure strategy, asserting that Tehran aims to shift the cost of international pressure onto regional countries by threatening energy facilities, the Red Sea, and supply chains. He warned that this tactic could potentially ignite a wider regional and global economic crisis.

Al-Alimi urged the international community to refrain from treating all parties involved in the escalation as equally responsible. He insisted that the party initiating the conflict must be named and the attacker must bear responsibility for the escalation and its consequences. He called for urgent assistance from the European Union, the United Nations, and donors to support displaced people and aid local authorities.

Additionally, Al-Alimi advocated for stronger measures to prevent the smuggling of weapons, technology, and military components to the Houthis, as well as the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. He stressed that economic, humanitarian, and development support for the Yemeni state is crucial to strengthening stability, warning that a weak state with militias retaining weapons is merely a truce until the next round of conflict.