Former Khamenei adviser Velayati threatens Bab el Mandeb Strait disruption on behalf of Axis of Resistance unified command — warns global energy and trade could be disrupted 'with a single signal'

Ali Akbar Velayati, International Affairs Adviser to former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, posted on X on April 5 that the 'unified command' of the Axis of Resistance views the Bab el Mandeb Strait the same way it views the Strait of Hormuz. Velayati warned that the flow of global energy and global trade could be disrupted 'with a single signal.' The Bab el Mandeb is the southern entrance to the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast, a critical maritime chokepoint through which a significant portion of global trade and energy supplies pass. ISW assesses that Velayati's statement suggests Iran is framing the Bab el Mandeb as part of its coercive regional deterrent posture and is coordinating with the Houthis. However, it does not mean that Iran alone controls Houthi decision-making. ISW previously assessed that the Houthis likely aim to help deter further US escalation against Iran and the wider Axis of Resistance, but they are unlikely to expand attacks in ways that would jeopardize their domestic position in Yemen. IRGC-affiliated outlet Tasnim had previously warned on March 25 of a 'new front' in the Bab el Mandeb Strait. The repeated references suggest this is a deliberate escalation signal rather than offhand rhetoric, though actual Houthi capability to disrupt the Bab el Mandeb in a meaningful way remains to be demonstrated in this conflict phase.