Reports on the Closure of Bab al-Mandab Strait

Account of the incident: In the published coverage, Mohammed al-Farrah, a member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, was quoted indirectly as speaking about the احتمال of closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait. In this account, he raised the closure of Bab al-Mandab alongside the Strait of Hormuz and said that if this were to happen, oil prices would reach $200. At the same time, two other sources reported a maritime incident near Yemen’s coast in which an oil tanker was attacked. One source reported the incident without naming the perpetrators, while another provided more detail, saying that several small boats approached and clashed with the tanker’s security team.

• Akharin Khabar, citing Mohammed al-Farrah, a member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, wrote that the country intends to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
• The same source quoted al-Farrah as saying that “Bab al-Mandab will be joined with the Strait of Hormuz, and oil prices will reach $200.”
• Khabar-e Fori also reflected the same position, reporting a “warning from Yemen over closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait.”
• The newspapers Shargh and Etemad both quoted Mohammed al-Farrah as saying that if the current situation continues, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Strait of Hormuz will be closed “in an operational alliance.”
• Shargh and Etemad also quoted al-Farrah as saying that “Saudi Arabia’s incitement by the United States to attack Yemen will never be to Washington’s benefit.”
• In the reports by Shargh and Etemad, the likely outcome of this situation was described as an “unprecedented surge in oil prices to $200 per barrel.”
• Mashregh News wrote that reports indicate an oil tanker near Yemen’s coast was attacked by unidentified armed individuals.
• Khabar-e Fori reported that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations organization had received notice of an incident 50 nautical miles south of Aden, Yemen.
• In Khabar-e Fori’s report, six small boats approached the tanker from starboard and engaged with its security team.
• Khabar-e Fori covered this incident near Yemen’s coast amid rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and wrote that after Saudi Arabia targeted the airport, Yemen’s Ansar Allah reserved the right to respond in a statement.
• In the sources provided, there are differing and incomplete reports regarding the actual closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait or the confirmed occurrence of disruptions to maritime traffic, and some mention only a warning, a possibility, or the report of an incident.. Coverage difference: Some sources, especially Akharin Khabar, Khabar-e Fori, Shargh, and Etemad, focused on Mohammed al-Farrah’s remarks and the possible economic consequence, namely oil prices rising to $200. By contrast, Mashregh News and Khabar-e Fori focused more on a maritime incident near Yemen’s coast and spoke of an attack on an oil tanker or the approach of boats, without…