Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen have completed preparations to attack ships transiting the Red Sea’s southern access point, a maritime security group led by the U.S. Navy has warned. “Sources close to the group stated that the Houthis have completed preparations to attack shipping, including the deployment of missiles and drones positioned near Bab el-Mandeb,” the Joint Maritime Information Center, or JMIC, told mariners in a notice Tuesday. The center, headquartered in Bahrain, provides security updates to commercial ships in the Middle East. The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and global markets. The militants declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening to cut off the kingdom’s oil exports through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb.

Full report : Houthis deploy missiles and drones to attack ships in southern Red Sea, naval group says.