A waterway connecting the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa: How critical is the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which the Houthi movement has targeted?

　　China News Service, March 20th - According to a report by RIA Novosti on March 20th local time, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of Yemen's Houthi movement, stated that the organization might block the Mandeb Strait to support Iran.

　　According to reports, Bukhaiti stated in an interview with RIA Novosti that Yemen's Houthi movement is considering all possible options to support Iran in resisting military strikes from the United States and Israel. If they have to close the Mandeb Strait, Yemen's Houthi movement will only attack ships from countries involved in attacks on Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine.

　　According to sources from the agency, the organization is considering all possible plans to support Iran against attacks from the United States and Israel.

　　The report introduces that the Mandeb Strait is a strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, serving as the "throat" connecting the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean, and is known as the "water corridor" connecting the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

　　In Arabic, Mandeb Strait means "Gate of Tears." The strait is windy and has high waves, with many narrow reefs, resembling a gate. In the era when navigation technology was not very advanced, ships often capsized here when encountering strong winds, causing sailors to be terrified and even shed tears, while fishermen's families worried and cried for their safety. Due to the dangerous passage through the Mandeb Strait, it is often referred to as the "Strait of Death," and the surrounding sea area is known as the "Sea of Death."

　　As a "water corridor" connecting the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the Mandeb Strait holds extremely important strategic significance and is a place of competition among nations. Since the 16th century, the important strategic areas of the Mandeb Strait have been successively occupied by colonial powers such as Portugal, France, and Britain. Yemen and Eritrea once engaged in fierce battles over the ownership of Greater Hanish Island in the Mandeb Strait, because whoever occupies Greater Hanish Island can completely block the Mandeb Strait.