Bab al-Mandab Between Global Security and Human Tragedy in Yemen.
By: Ambassador Ahmed Abdullah Nagi
Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Budapest
Bab al-Mandab is no longer merely a maritime passage connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden; it has become one of the most important indicators of stability in the global economic system. Every threat targeting this strait has direct repercussions on international trade, energy security, supply chains, shipping costs and insurance rates. With the escalating Houthi attacks on maritime navigation, the international community faces a real test: Will it act preemptively to prevent Bab al-Mandab from becoming another Hormuz, or will it merely manage crises after they occur?
Approximately 13% of global trade passes through Bab al-Mandab, along with significant part of the oil and gas exports destined for Europe and Asia. This means any sustained disruption in this passage threatens not only regional nations but the entire global economy through increased shipping and insurance costs, supply chain disruptions, and rising energy and commodity prices. Therefore, the security of Bab al-Mandab is no longer merely a Yemeni or Middle Eastern issue, it has become a shared international concern.
In this context, recent threats issued by Houthi militias claiming to impose an “embargo” on Saudi maritime navigation in the Red Sea are unjustified. These terrorist militias argue this blockade on the Saudi maritime navigation is a response to the blockade on Yemen. In reality, there is no blockade on Yemen; rather, there are restrictions on Houthi movement following their 2014 coup, specifically since 2015, under international decisions, most importantly UN Security Council Resolution 2216 of 2015.
In contrast, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided unlimited humanitarian, developmental, and economic support to the Yemeni people during the worst phase of Yemen’s contemporary history. Without this support, the suffering of the Yemeni people would have intensified and worsened.
Official data indicates the continued flow of commercial and relief ships to ports under Houthi control. Since the beginning of 2026, more than 300 ships have entered these ports, including 157 ships loaded with food supplies, 104 ships carrying construction materials, and 45 ships carrying petroleum derivatives. These figures weaken the narrative of a comprehensive blockade and confirm the continuation of trade movements and humanitarian supplies.
On the contrary, military developments indicate the growing offensive capabilities of the Houthis on Yemen’s western coast, including the deployment of missiles, drones, and attack boats, in addition to reports of continued Iranian logistical and intelligence support, including the return of the Iranian ship previously known as “Saviz” to the Red Sea under a new name. This reflects that what is occurring does not represent an isolated local development, but rather falls within a broader Iranian strategy seeking to possess leverage over the most important international maritime passages.
From here emerges the comparison with the Strait of Hormuz. The world has become accustomed over past decades to dealing with threats targeting that strait as part of the security landscape in the Gulf, despite the economic disruptions they cause. Today, the international community faces the possibility of repeating the same scenario in Bab al-Mandab, but through Iranian proxies in Yemen, as the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab experience escalating threats directed against international navigation, amid the continued use of this vital maritime passage by the Iranian-backed Houthi group as a political and military pressure card. If disrupting navigation or threatening with it become an acceptable political tool, the world will face a dangerous precedent threatening one of the most critical maritime passages of the twenty-first century. The danger lies not only in the direct impact on commercial ships but in the potential establishment of a new maritime security equation in the region based on using international passages as means to impose political will and achieve geopolitical gains.
Saudi Arabia: From Crisis Management to Peacemaking Opportunities
Amid these challenges, the pivotal role played by Saudi Arabia in supporting Yemen’s stability cannot be overlooked. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Saudi role has not been limited to supporting the legitimate Yemeni Government, but has included launching one of the largest humanitarian and development assistance programs through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, supporting the Central Bank of Yemen, financing the fuel needed to continue basic services, and implementing projects in the health, education, water and food security sectors. This support has mitigated humanitarian deterioration and prevented complete state institutional collapse.
Saudi Arabia also played a central role in promoting political solutions, leading—in coordination with Oman and the United Nations—intensive efforts to end the war and achieve comprehensive settlement. The Yemeni Government has shown clear flexibility in engaging with these initiatives, based on its conviction that the just peace is the only path to end Yemeni suffering and rebuild the state. However, continued military escalation by the Houthis has prevented tangible progress, highlighting the need for a more forceful international stance supporting the peace process and holding obstructing parties accountable.
Yemen: When Children Become the Greatest Victims
Maritime security cannot be separated from the humanitarian reality in Yemen. While the world focuses on ship movements in the Red Sea, millions of Yemenis suffer one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern times. War has destroyed the economy, weakened state institutions, caused essential services to decline, and pushed millions of families into poverty and displacement.
Most painfully, the primary victims of this war are the children. An entire generation has grown up in an environment dominated by fear and violence, lacking opportunities for education, healthcare, and psychological stability. These children need not only food and medicine but genuine opportunities to reclaim their lives and build their futures. If the war continues, Yemen will lose not only its present but its future as well, because state reconstruction begins with human reconstruction.
Therefore, supporting peace in Yemen should not be viewed merely as a moral obligation but as an investment in regional and international security. Each child returning to school is a step toward stability; each institution resuming operations reduces opportunities for extremism and violence; and each advance in the peace process directly reflects on Red Sea security and global trade stability.
Responsibility Beyond Protecting Maritime Passages
Protecting Bab al-Mandab cannot be achieved solely by deploying more naval vessels or strengthening military patrols, important as these are. It requires a comprehensive vision addressing the crisis’s root causes. Lasting stability begins with the Yemeni state recovering its institutions and sovereignty and supporting the legitimate Government, combined with promoting development and reconstruction efforts, in parallel with continued international pressure to ensure freedom of navigation and hold accountable those who threaten it.
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Today, the international community stands before two clear choices: either taking preemptive action to prevent Bab al-Mandab from becoming “another Hormuz”, or waiting for a new reality to take hold in which global trade becomes hostage to regional crises.
Protecting Bab al-Mandab is not the responsibility of Yemen alone, but of the entire international community. It is the protection of global trade freedom, energy security, and international economic stability. At the same time, it is the protection of the future of millions of Yemenis who deserve to live in a safe and stable state, not on an open battlefield.
Yemen’s stability is the true guarantee for Red Sea security, and Red Sea security is an integral part of global security.
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