Have you ever heard of Bab al-Mandeb (the Strait of Mandeb)? I have a feeling we will be hearing a lot about it in the very near future. And a lot of the razzle-dazzle about other 'important' issues (you know the drill) will no longer have the ability to distract.

Maybe it's better to backtrack a little. What do you know about the Houthis?

According to Al Jazeera:

“Officially known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the Houthi rebels began as a theological movement that preached tolerance and peace in the early 1990s, according to Ahmed Addaghashi, a professor at Sanaa University and author of two books on the movement, Houthi Phenomenon and Houthis and Their Political and Military Future.”

“Addaghashi told Al Jazeera that the Houthi movement originally held a considerably broad-minded educational and cultural vision.*A religious group affiliated with the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam, the Houthis maintain a stronghold in the northern province of Saada.”

The Shia's? Isn't that the sect followed by Iran? Yes, it is.

The entry on the Houthi in wikipedia notes:

“Houthi leaders such as Issam Al-'Imad have stated as early as 2011 that they are religiously and ideologically influenced by Iran, and as of 2014 it has been observered that “The Houthi group’s approach is in many ways similar to that of Hizbollah in Lebanon. Both religiously based, Iran-backed groups follow the same military doctrine and glorify the Khomeini revolution in Iran.””


And the NY Times adds:

“Yemeni officials and diplomats say the Houthis, now led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, 33, are backed by Iran. The Houthis deny that link, but the Yemeni authorities have seized ships carrying Iranian weapons that they say were being sent to the Houthis.”

The Houthis are fighting in Yemen, and rather successful at this point in time.

On February 25, 2015 a coup by the Houthis deposed Yemen's president. They have been advancing across western and southern Yemen. On March 25, 2015, Saudi Arabia and their allied forces began fighting the Houthis. Fighting by the international force has, at this time, been most prominent and publicized as it concerns control of Yemen's capital (and port) city, Aden.

However, another part of the country has been getting the attention of the arab coalition.

Rumors are swirling. According to Debka (which is thought to have ties to Israeli intelligence):

“In a surprise step, Egyptian marine naval and marine forces Thursday morning, March 26, seized control of the strategic Bab El-Mandeb Straits to foil Tehran’s plans to grab this important energy shipping gateway between the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal, debkafile’s military sources report from the Gulf. Egypt disguised the raid as a counter-piracy operation.”

And Iran's Fars News Agency says:

“According to reports, the Saudi-led fighter jets launched fresh strikes against Yemeni troops on Mion Island in Bab el-Mandeb strait.
“Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for eight days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi airstrikes have killed at least 242, mostly women and children, and injured hundreds more.”

And independent (?) blog Syria 360º adds:

“The Arab states’ coalition led by Saudi Arabia began naval blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported Friday citing anonymous sources.”

On the other hand, Debka (again) says:

“Control of the Red Sea Bab el-Mandeb Straits passed Tuesday, March 31 to pro-Iranian Yemeni forces when the Yemeni Army’s 117th Brigade loyal to the former Yemeni President Ali Saleh handed positions guarding the waterway to two Houthi commando battalions trained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. This is revealed by debkafile’s military and intelligence sources.”

“To strengthen Iran’s grip on the key Red Sea gateway, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered two naval task forces to sail to the Red Sea. They are to fend off a Saudi-Egyptian offensive to dislodge the Houthi battalions now holding a point linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

“The naval task forces are being sent to draw a sea shield around the Houthi forces to defend them against Saudi-Egyptian assaults. This maneuver was orchestrated by the Al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

“Our sources report that the 33rd task force set out on its mission Tuesday night from the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas.”

So, we've got the Shia & Iran, against the Sunni & Saudi Arabia et. al., banging it out in Yemen. Does this take on any special significance or should we just be kicking back and passing the popcorn?

Unfortunately, there is something very significant in the fight going on in the sandbox.
Lebanese independent (?) news site "NOW" reports:

“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.”

“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.””