Since the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen entered the war last week by attacking Israel with missiles, there has been an increased threat of attacks on shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb.
The Iranian regime's speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stepped up the rhetoric on Friday. "Which countries and companies account for the largest transport volumes through the strait?" he wrote.
If Bab el-Mandeb were closed, in addition to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, it would pose new, pressing challenges to the established oil trade and the world economy.
The strait lies off the coast of Yemen and leads from the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean into the Red Sea and on to the Suez Canal.
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