The focus of global energy markets has, for weeks, been fixed on a single maritime artery — the Strait of Hormuz. But as the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran deepens, attention is now shifting southwards to another narrow stretch of water, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.
This strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea is now emerging as a second front in what experts describe as the most severe disruption to global energy markets in modern history. With Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis entering the current war involving the US, Israel and Iran, there is risk of major disruptions.
