Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces growing threat as Houthi attacks raise fears of a second Hormuz

The Iran-backed Houthis’ escalating attacks on shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are raising a growing strategic question: Could the waterway become the next Strait of Hormuz?

The answer is complicated by the geography — and by Yemen itself. Unlike Hormuz, where Iran can directly threaten shipping from its own coastline, Tehran’s leverage over Bab el-Mandeb depends largely on its Houthi allies. And the country overlooking the strait is fractured among competing armed and political forces...