US strikes Iran Tehran threatens Bab el-Mandeb on July 15

Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated sharply on July 15, 2026, with Iran threatening to disrupt additional global shipping routes and the U.S. launching fresh military strikes, raising fears of a broader conflict that could severely impact world energy supplies and trade. The crisis centers on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed, and now potentially the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical maritime chokepoint.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on July 15 declaring that regional energy exports should be "either for everyone or for no one," warning it could close other export corridors that benefit the United States and its allies. The IRGC stated the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until what it called the end of "America's evils" or "acts of aggression." Analysts widely believe the new threat signals Iran may leverage its Houthi allies in Yemen to target the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. A senior Houthi official warned earlier in the week that the group was prepared to close that waterway if Saudi military operations in Yemen continued, a move he claimed could...