The Houthi threat to blockade Bab al-Mandab has triggered warnings from US and European officials that the conflict in the Middle East could expand further, amid growing concerns over the safety of international shipping in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
US officials said the escalation could place additional strain on American forces, while the European Union called on the Houthis to stop targeting commercial navigation.<\/p>\n
According to Reuters, US officials said the Houthis\u2019 threat to impose a blockade at Bab al-Mandab could widen the war in the region.<\/p>\n
They added that the move could further burden the US military, as tensions continue to rise across multiple fronts in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Risk of a wider confrontation
\nGreater strain on US military resources
\nAdditional threats to Red Sea shipping<\/p>\n
In a separate development, a source at Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Authority for Transport said the vessel ENCELIA, owned by one of the country\u2019s companies, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
The source said the attack caused a fire at the front of the ship, but confirmed that all crew members were safe.<\/p>\n
Authorities said all necessary measures were taken to secure the vessel and protect the marine environment.<\/p>\n
They added that such attacks violate international laws and norms that ensure the safety of commercial ships and their crews.<\/p>\n
The European Union urged the Houthis to stop all actions that endanger international navigation in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement that the group must halt any activity that threatens the safety of global shipping.<\/p>\n
Kallas said the Houthis\u2019 recent threats to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia represent:<\/p>\n
A direct threat to regional stability
\nA dangerous escalation
\nA risk to sailors and international shipping<\/p>\n
The EU statement followed the Houthis\u2019 announcement of a ban on shipping linked to Saudi Arabia, including restrictions on loading and unloading cargo, while warning that violators could be targeted.<\/p>\n
The move has deepened concerns about security in the Bab al-Mandab strait and other key maritime routes.<\/p>\n
US officials warn of wider war
\nSaudi ship ENCELIA targeted in the Red Sea
\nCrew confirmed safe
\nEU urges Houthis to end shipping threats
\nTensions rise over Bab al-Mandab<\/p>\n
The Houthi threat to blockade Bab al-Mandab marks another step in the growing maritime escalation in the region, with US and European officials warning of broader consequences for international shipping and regional stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Houthi threat to blockade Bab al-Mandab has triggered warnings from US and European officials that the conflict in the Middle East could expand further, amid growing concerns over the safety of international shipping in the Red Sea. US officials said the escalation could place additional strain on American forces, while the European Union called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"7","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"left-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35642,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641\/revisions\/35642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}