NATO veteran alerts that Iran might use Houthi forces to block Suez Canal

A former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James Stewartides, told a television program that Iranian strategists are discussing the possibility of employing Yemen’s Houthi fighters to seal the southwestern mouth of the Suez Canal. This potential escalation follows a series of attacks in the Red Sea region and a recent strike on a U.S. installation in Jordan that left two service members dead and another missing. The U.S. Energy Department, led by Chris Richt, maintains that oil transits through the Hormuz Strait have rebounded to about two‑thirds of pre‑conflict volumes, averaging 7 million barrels daily, with an equal amount flowing via alternative pipelines. While traffic has not fully normalised, the United States pledges continued security for the strait irrespective of Tehran’s cooperation.