A Red Sea Nightmare

Houthi (Shiite) Rebels Under Iranian Control Seize Yemen – the first step toward seizing (Sunni) Saudi Arabia

From the perspective of the West, Yemen has always been a remote and uninteresting country. It is the poorest country in the Arab world, with a primitive economy, massive unemployment and a very high level (60 percent) of illiteracy. Of the 27 million citizens, two-thirds are Sunni Muslims and one-third are Shiite.

"The ayatollahs of Iran seek to take control of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb so they can determine who can cross the Red Sea to the Suez Canal," says Dr. Yasser bin Hilal, a political science lecturer at the University of Sana'a, who traveled to Washington in an attempt to shake up the administration and the intelligence agencies.

"If they are successful, it will also affect the movement of ships sailing with goods from the Far East to the port of Ashdod in Israel.

Try to picture the nightmare scenario – fighters in the uniforms of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards directing maritime traffic, boarding cargo ships, checking the cargoes and crew, and blocking passage to anything that doesn't serve their interests."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4641659,00.html