The Red Sea Flashpoint: Chokepoints, Militias, and Maritime Risk

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the US-Israel strikes on Iran has dominated headlines — but the more enduring strategic question lies further south. My latest commentary, The Red Sea Flashpoint: Chokepoints, Militias, and Maritime Risk, examines how the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has emerged as a second and equally consequential pressure point in the same regional system.

The piece explores the Houthi movement’s asymmetric campaign against global shipping, the structural interdependence of the Gulf and Red Sea corridors, and how Iran has effectively weaponised maritime connectivity as a tool of geopolitical coercion. It also interrogates the limits of Western deterrence and what a dual chokepoint crisis would mean for global energy and trade.

At a moment when the world is watching Hormuz, the Red Sea deserves equal attention.