"Houthi-Saudi Conflict Escalates Over Red Sea Control"
Houthis (Ansar Allah)
Zaydi Shia armed movement controlling northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa
Zaydi Shia
a branch of Shia Islam practised mainly in parts of Yemen
Yemen's civil war started from the wider Iran-Saudi regional rivalry for influence in West Asia. The Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) is a Zaydi Shia revivalist group. Zaydism is a branch of Shia Islam found mainly in Yemen. The Houthis gained strength during the Arab Spring protests and captured Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. In 2015, Saudi Arabia, then under its new Defence Minister, launched a Saudi-led coalition military intervention. This aimed to remove the Houthis from power. That war has never fully ended. It has become the central security test for Saudi Arabia's current leadership.
Two maritime choke points shape the stakes of this conflict for the whole world. The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20% of global oil trade. It lies next to Iranian waters. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. It carries roughly 7% of global oil trade. It links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and onward to the Suez Canal. Saudi Arabia built the East-West Pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula. This allowed it to pump crude to Red Sea terminals. It could avoid relying only on Hormuz. But this redundancy has one weakness. Every barrel loaded at a Red Sea terminal still has to pass through Bab el-Mandeb to reach world markets. So whoever controls Yemen's Red Sea coast can still threaten Saudi oil exports even if Hormuz stays open.
The latest flare-up began with a dispute over an Iranian aircraft. It carried a Houthi delegation back to Sanaa after attending a funeral in Iran. Yemen's Saudi-backed government objected to the use of an Iranian carrier. It feared the plane could also move personnel or equipment belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is a branch of Iran's armed forces that operates independently of its regular military. When the Houthis went ahead anyway, Saudi-backed forces bombed Sanaa's airport runway. This blocked the landing. The plane had to divert. The Houthis declared the existing ceasefire over.
What followed was a sharp escalation. The Houthis attacked Saudi infrastructure with drones and missiles. They announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. …
"Energy security constitutes the dominant kingpin of India's foreign policy, and is linked with India's overarching influence in Middle Eastern countries." How would you integrate energy security with India's foreign policy trajectories in the coming years?
Consider the following statements about the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah):
1.It is a Zaydi Shia revivalist movement.
2.It captured Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
3.It receives backing from Saudi Arabia against Iran.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects which of the following two water bodies?
With reference to global oil trade chokepoints, consider the following pairs:
Chokepoint : Approximate share of global oil trade
1.Strait of Hormuz : About 20%
2.Bab el-Mandeb Strait : About 7%
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Which of the following best explains why Houthi control over Yemen's Red Sea coastline undermines Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline strategy?
Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline was primarily built to achieve which of the following strategic purposes?
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