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Losing Access to Bab El-Mandeb Would Be 'Catastrophic,' Qatar Warns

Qatar said another Red Sea closure would deepen pressure on oil flows and shipping as global supply chains remain strained, officials said.

  • On Tuesday, Qatar Ministry Director of Media and Communications Ibrahim Sultan Hashmi warned that closing the Bab Mandab Strait would be "catastrophic," citing the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and recent Iran-backed Houthis gains.
  • Seizing the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands on Monday, the Houthis strengthened their position in the southern Red Sea after government-allied forces withdrew.
  • Known in Arabic as the "Gate of Tears," the Bab Mandab links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, forcing vessels between Asia and Europe to pass through this critical chokepoint.
  • Urging countries to prevent waterway blockages from becoming the "new normal," Hashmi emphasized that the world cannot afford further disruptions to maritime transit security.
  • Qatar is working with international partners to support freedom of navigation, warning that the global economy is already reeling from the effects of regional maritime blockades.
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Qatar warned that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could not be closed – especially now that there was already a problem with the Strait of Ormuz – the representative of Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Hashmi, said that if shipping was broken on the two main maritime routes of the world, it could be a disaster for the world to be able to find a solution to the problem.

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Le Figaro broke the news in Paris, France on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
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