On Record: Israeli PM Netanyahu Raises Specter Of War With Iran

Israeli Prime Binyamin Netanyahu vowed to join a coalition of countries to forcibly open the Bab al-Mandab Strait if Iran follows through on previous threats to shut the vital waterway, through which some 5 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products pass each day. “At the beginning of the week we were witness to a sharp clash between Iran’s proxies that tried to sabotage international shipping,” Netanyahu said in reference to a missile attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that targeted two Saudi tankers. In response, Riyadh announced that it was suspending oil shipments through the channel, sending shock waves across global markets. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, is only 29 kilometers wide between Yemen on the eastern side and Djibouti and Eritrea to the west. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s conflict in March 2015, and has since been fighting the Houthis who on numerous occasions have targeted Riyadh with ballistic missiles allegedly supplied by Tehran. Following a spate of international threats, the rebels said that they would unilaterally halt attacks in the Red Sea for two weeks, as diplomats attempt to reach a political solution to end the war. Meanwhile, Iranian forces are set to launch a major exercise in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which is being construed as a demonstration of the Islamic Republic’s ability to close the key oil shipping lane.