How serious is Iran’s threat to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea?

After the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s IRGC warns it could next target Bab al-Mandeb.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait wields importance as a global shipping artery, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

This week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to turn the Bab al-Mandeb Strait into its next front in the war with the US. Such a move would mean relying on its Houthi allies in Yemen to block the vital shipping route.

But how serious is this threat, and what would the implications be for an already volatile region – and the global economy?

Ali Ahmadi – Executive fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Ian Ralby – Senior fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy

Farea Al Muslimi – Research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme