Image for representation purposes only Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to be ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, if the United States attacks Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters, raising the risk of disruption to another key global energy shipping route. The proposal has been discussed within Iran’s leadership and the message has been passed to the Houthis, according to two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how the message was conveyed or whether it followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat on Tuesday to strike Iran’s power infrastructure. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed after Iran shut the waterway following the conflict that began on Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States attacked Iran. Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz carried around one-fifth of global energy supplies. A disruption at Bab el-Mandeb would put pressure on the Middle East’s second major oil export route, adding fresh risks for global shipping and energy markets. A source close to the Houthis said the group has completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The weapons have been positioned in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden, and the group is waiting for orders to begin operations. The source added that representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are already in Yemen, would decide when to move to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have risen sharply. On Monday, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control, breaking a four-year truce between the two sides. Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, said the renewe