ERITREA - Red Sea New Chokepoint?

The Islamic Republic said that the 1,400-mile inlet dividing Africa and Asia was fair game for retaliatory attacks because of the presence of the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

Whether Iranian forces would assault Red Sea shipping themselves remains unclear, but in recent years the Houthis, Tehran’s proxy militia based in Yemen, have vastly reduced traffic through the waterway with attacks on vessels there.

Historically, the Red Sea has been invaluable, with around one-tenth of global seaborne oil shipments passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an even narrower bottleneck of just 16 miles that separates the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

That changed in late 2023, however, when the Houthis started attacking ships using that route in response to Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.

Red Sea shipping numbers plummeted, with traffic crossing the Suez Canal (which connects it to the Mediterranean Sea) down 70% by the middle of 2024, according to a yearly review by United Nations Trade and Development.

-www.nbcnews.com, 18 March 2026

Commentary: The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Of great interest is the shortcut through the Gulf of Suez, and further north to the Suez Canal, which serves Europe. This road and possible chokepoint is of vital importance to the West.

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, they have one thing in common: energy (oil & gas). The Western world and the East are desperately in need of these; thus, to a certain degree are dependent on the Middle East.

The question is often asked: Is this the beginning of Armageddon? We don’t think so. Because before Armageddon, there must be world unity and prosperity galore. These conflicts will not last indefinitely, but will be solved sooner or later. What comes next? Usually reconstruction, followed by prosperity.

When analyzing world events, particularly in the Middle East, our focus and attention must be guided to the center of the world: Jerusalem.

In the midst of the glorious, peaceful, and prosperous reign of Antichrist and company, we read of two witnesses who will testify against the global system. Revelation 11:8 reads: “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

In the meantime, despite many hurdles and a seemingly unbridgeable abyss, the end will always be the fulfilment of the prophetic Word. The world as we know it today—with all of its glory, riches, power, and inventions—will experience: “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!” (Revelation 18:17-18).

(See 15 Future Events That Will Shake the World, Item #2285, $15.99.)