Sanaa, Yemen – Iran is facing the full might of the United States and Israel, and is fighting back, using the cards at its disposal.Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been crippled as a result of Iranian threats, leading to a worldwide energy shock. Iran’s allies across the region are fighting in support of Iran, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut there is one card that appears not to have been played, yet.The Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen, despite demonstrating their capabilities by attacking shipping in the Red Sea for two years after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, have so far sat out the current conflict.Observers, and Yemenis themselves, are asking, for how long?Houthi chief Abdel-Malik al-Houthi has previously said that his group’s “hands are on the trigger”, promising action at the right time.An Iranian military official told the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency on March 21 that any “US aggression” against Iran’s oil facilities on Kharg Island would pave the way for Tehran to destabilise the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which lies west of Yemen, at the entrance to the Red Sea.A blockade of Bab al-Mandeb, a vital maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea to global trade routes, would further destabilise the energy market, but the military, economic and humanitarian repercussions for Yemen could be just as devastating and costly, analysts told Al Jazeera.Abdulsalam Mohammed, the head of the Yemeni Aba …
