File photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday warned Iran that any attempt to block the Bab al-Mandab Strait would face the wrath of an “international coalition”.
The Bab al-Mandab links the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea.
Netanyahu issued the threat following recent Iranian threats to close the strategic waterway in retaliation for U.S. economic sanctions on Tehran.
“Early this week, we saw a sharp clash with Iranian proxies who tried to obstruct navigation through the strait near the entrance of the Red Sea,” Netanyahu said while addressing naval cadets at a graduation ceremony Haifa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned visit to Latin America amid reports of an “imminent” truce with Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas. According to a Thursday statement released by his office, Netanyahu “has decided to stay in Israel next week due to the situation in the south [i.e. the Gaza Strip] and has therefore canceled his planned trip to Colombia”. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Netanyahu had canceled his scheduled trip “amid reports of progress in Egypt-brokered talks between Israel and the Hamas leadership in Gaza”. It is the first time for Netanyahu to cancel a planned trip overseas due to a security-related matter. While Hamas has yet to confirm reports that it is close to hammering out a truce deal with Israel, observers quoted in Israeli media say an agreement is “imminent”. Two weeks ago, Israel and Gaza-based resistance factions announced a limited ceasefire deal after a series of escalations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone. For the past three months, Palestinians have been staging regular demonstrations near the buffer zone.Since the demonstrations began on Mar. 30, more than 150 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
Israeli PM cancels trip abroad amid talk of Gaza truce
“If Iran tries to block the Bab al-Mandab, I’m convinced it will find itself facing a determined international coalition tasked with preventing this,” he added.
Netanyahu went on to stress the waterway’s strategic importance to Israel.
“The sea provides many opportunities,” he said. “Above all, it allows the small state of Israel to extend its reach by deploying our vessels… across a vast area,” he asserted.
Israel on Wednesday marked the launch of a new Jewish heritage center in Jerusalem.The center, which will cost over $1 million, will be housed in an old Yemenite synagogue that will soon be renovated. The synagogue is located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem.A ceremony marking the launch was attended by Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Culture Minister Miri Regev. Former Arkansas governor and U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was also present.Israeli PM warns Iran over attempt to close key straitAccording to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, the director of the center, Jawad Siyam, and Committee Head of Batn al-Hawa neighborhood Zuhayr ar-Racabi were arrested by Israeli police prior to the center’s launching ceremony.The Palestinian Abu Nab family had been living in the old synagogue but were forced out in 2015 by Jewish settlers in cooperation with Ateret Cohanim, a group that works to establish a Jewish majority in the Old City and East Jerusalem.
Israel marks launch of Jewish center in Jerusalem
Last week, Saudi Arabia suspended crude oil transfers through the Bab al-Mandab after two of its oil tankers were allegedly attacked by Iranian-backed rebels off Yemen’s coast.
“Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting all oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandab until the situation becomes clearer and maritime transit through the strait is secure,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said at the time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday warned Iran of a military response if it attempts to close the key Bab al-Mandab Strait on the Red Sea.“If Iran tries to close Bab al-Mandab, I’m sure it will face a strong coalition which will prevent it,” Netanyahu said at a graduation ceremony of naval officers in the northern city of Haifa.“Israel will be in that coalition too,” he said, but did not specify the other countries that would be part of it.He said the sea provides Israel with many opportunities, and Israeli ships were able to reach a vast area thanks to it.Israel commits 90 breaches against journos in July: NGO“This gives the state of Israel considerable power,” he added.Last week, Saudi Arabia suspended crude oil shipments through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait after two of its oil tankers were allegedly attacked by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels off Yemen’s coast.Following the attacks, an Iranian military commander warned that the Red Sea would “no longer be safe” for U.S. vessels amid an ongoing war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian military officials.'Double standards of the Israeli judicial system'The remarks, made by Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, come amid tensions between Tehran and Washington that have steadily mounted since Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the West.Iran rejects Trump offer of talks as 'humiliation', without value“Never, ever threaten the U.S. again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered,” Trump recently told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Twitter.
Israeli PM warns Iran over attempt to close key strait
One day later, Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, said the Red Sea was “no longer safe” for U.S. naval forces.
An estimated 7 percent of all international maritime traffic transits through the Bab al-Mandab each year.