Houthis Assure EU They Won’t Target European Ships In Red Sea, Even As Group Tightens Grip On Bab Al-Mandeb

Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have told the European Union that they do not intend to target European vessels in the Red Sea, even as the group works to consolidate control over the strategically vital Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Financial Times has reported.

According to the report, which cited two diplomats briefed on the matter, the Houthis sent a letter earlier this month to the EU’s foreign and security policy arm, stating that their offensive along Yemen’s southern coast was not intended to disrupt international shipping.

The diplomats said the group also gave assurances to the EU that its operations would not interfere with freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb the waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and, beyond it, the Indian Ocean.

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The report noted that the Houthis have sought to frame the conflict as being directed specifically at Saudi Arabia, rather than as a broader campaign against international shipping.

The letter was sent as container shipping firms ramped up services through the Suez Canal, pushing the number of vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandeb to its highest level in nearly three years. One of the diplomats said the letter was delivered to the EU’s diplomatic service on September 10 the same day the Houthis seized the Yemeni port of Mocha.