Iran could retaliate against a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by directing its Houthi allies to disrupt another critical global shipping route, a senior Middle East analyst warned Sunday.

The Bab al-Mandeb — a narrow chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden — carries roughly 12% of global oil shipments and serves as a vital trade corridor between Asia and Europe, making it a strategic target for escalation that could further strain global energy markets.

«If the U.S. proceeds with its plan to blockade the strait, Iran’s escalation strategy could dictate that it ensures Gulf countries can’t export, either,» Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser at the Middle East Program, told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP VOWS US WILL STRIKE IRAN’S POWER PLANTS, BRIDGES IF STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS NOT REOPENED

«This could translate to further attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure or even deploying the Houthis to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb,» Yacoubian added.

Yacoubian’s remarks came after Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser on international affairs to Iran’s Supreme Leader, signaled Tehran’s view of the Bab al-Mandeb in light of potential U.S. action to block the Strait of Hormuz.

«Today, the unified command of the Resistance front views Bab al-Mandeb as it does Hormuz,» he said in a post on X.

WHY THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MATTERS AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH ULTIMATUM TO IRAN

Yemeni soldiers patrol the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait (Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP)

«If the White House dares to repeat its foolish mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single move.»

U.S. Central Command released a statement Sunday saying the naval blockade would begin Monday and be «enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.»

President Donald Trump also said the U.S. Navy would block «any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz» in a post on Truth Social.

In March, the U.S. warned ships at the Red Sea chokepoint of Houthi attacks

«The Houthis continue to pose a threat to U.S. assets, including commercial vessels, in this region,» a maritime advisory said of the Iran-backed armed group that controls much of northern Yemen.

TRUMP GIVES IRAN 48-HOUR ULTIMATUM TO REOPEN STRAIT OF HORMUZ OR FACE STRIKES ON POWER PLANTS

In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transit the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Aug. 9, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/U.S. Navy)

«Potential hostile actions include one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks; unmanned surface vehicle (USV) attacks; unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) attacks; ballistic and cruise missile attacks; small arms fire from small boats; explosive boat attacks; and illegal boardings, detentions, and/or seizures,» it said.

«U.S.-flagged commercial vessels operating in these areas are strongly advised to turn off their AIS transponders,» the advisory stated.

Yacoubian also determined in a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report that Iran was threatening to expand the conflict further to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb compounding global market disruptions.

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«It could leverage the Houthis, its Yemeni proxy, to once again wage attacks on the strategic waterway, depriving Saudi Arabia of its key workaround for oil shipments given the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz,» she added.

The Houthis joined Iran’s war against the U.S. and Israel on March 28 when the organization launched two ballistic missiles at southern Israel. Both were intercepted.

Rep. Eric Swalwell said he is suspending his campaign for California governor, citing personal issues and ongoing allegations in a statement posted on X.

«I am suspending my campaign for Governor,» Swalwell wrote. «To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. 

«I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,» he added.

The decision comes as pressure mounted over sexual assault allegations published in a bombshell report from the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, with lawmakers from both parties calling on him to drop out of the race and resign from Congress. 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN PLANS MOTION TO OUST SWALWELL FROM CONGRESS AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

Figures calling on Swalwell to step aside included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Pelosi urged that consideration of the accusations against Swalwell take place outside the context of his campaign.

«The young woman who has made serious allegations against Congressman Swalwell must be respected and heard. This extremely sensitive matter must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability. As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that this is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign,» Pelosi said in a statement given to NBC.

MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS DOG SWALWELL AS DEM RIVALS SEIZE OPENING IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE

A number of other Democrats soon joined the former speaker’s calls, with a handful rescinding previous endorsements of the campaign.

«I’ve read the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting, and I take it seriously,» Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a post to X.

«What is described is indefensible. Women who come forward with accounts like this deserve to be heard with respect, not questioned or dismissed,» he added.

Rep. Ted Lieu, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, also said he would pull his endorsement.

SWALWELL’S ‘I SHOULD BE WORKING’ GYM, POOL VIDEOS RESURFACE AS DEM RIVAL HAMMERS HIS MISSED HOUSE VOTES

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel in the Rayburn House Office Building on Sept. 17, 2025.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

«In light of the recent allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell, I am withdrawing my endorsement of his campaign for Governor,» Lieu said in his own post.

In its Friday report, the San Francisco Chronicle detailed graphic accounts from a woman accusing Swalwell of pursuing intoxicated women, pressuring employees into intimate situations and asking for explicit images from female contacts.

Rumblings of misconduct from Swalwell first emerged earlier this month when Cheyenne Hunt, a former Capitol Hill staffer and a political media personality, began circulating testimony from women who said they had been sexually assaulted by the congressman.

«The Democratic candidate currently leading in the California governor’s race has a known history of being predatory towards women,» Hunt claimed in a post to social media.

Despite initially remaining moot on the allegations, Swalwell’s office broke its silence on the matter in comments made to the New York Post earlier this week.

«This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before an election begins by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,» Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for Swalwell, said.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., delivers remarks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2020. (Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

With Swalwell exiting the race, the battle to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom becomes even more uncertain and turbulent ahead of the June 2 primary. Early voting will begin on May 4.

Public opinion surveys indicated that Swalwell was the top polling Democrat in the race, ahead of former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Tom Steyer, who’s flooded the airwaves with ads since declaring his candidacy in November. Both Porter and Steyer on Friday had called on Swalwell to suspend his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress.

The crowded field of Democrats also includes former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

There are two major Republicans in the race: conservative commentator and former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

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President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton last weekend, which appears to be boosting his support. But Trump’s backing wasn’t enough to put Hilton over the top this weekend at the California GOP annual convention. Neither Hilton or Bianco was able to top the 60% support of delegates threshold needed to earn the state party’s endorsement.

Democrats and Republicans appear on the same ballot in the June primary, with the top two finishers advancing to November’s general election.

¿Cómo sacarse de encima a Víktor Orbán? Ésa era la pregunta que gravitaba en la elección de este domingo, tanto dentro como fuera de Hungría. Pueden apilarse muchas explicaciones para explicar el sentido del voto. Pero al menos una idea asoma con nitidez: los húngaros advirtieron que la corrupción gubernamental y una economía débil están relacionados. Y que esa combinación, a la larga, siempre redunda en una corrosión de las libertades.

Desde su llegada al gobierno en 2010, Orbán inventó una fórmula para amarrarse al poder: fuertes cuotas nacionalistas para ganar la elección; cascoteo a los rivales usando las estructuras del Estado; desmantelamiento de instituciones independientes y acoso a la prensa. Eso es lo que ha convertido al húngaro en el paterfamilia global de la ultraderecha.

La traza de esa estrategia contó con la inestimable ayuda del partido oficialista Fidesz, cuyo control del Parlamento permitió alterar el sistema electoral en su favor, colocar a hombres dóciles al frente de agencias y empresas estatales, asegurar el clientelismo y garantizar grandes negocios para los amigos.

Pero luego de cuatro mandatos dictando las normas, Orbán no ha podido ahora convencer a los húngaros de que estarán mejor con él al comando. Su estrategia de presentar a Hungría como acosada por enemigos (la burocracia europea, las élites internacionales, los migrantes, los woke, Ucrania, los liberales y un largo etcétera) comenzó a cansar.

Mucho ha tenido que ver con ese hartazgo, según estudios de opinión a lo largo de la agitada campaña electoral, el fuerte grado de vulnerabilidad con el que Orbán ha dejado al país tras 16 años de mandato. Cuadran los números en esto, de modo categórico. El crecimiento se estancó y Hungría tiene indicadores que la ubican detrás de países cercanos como Eslovaquia, República Checa y Polonia, de acuerdo con datos de la UE y del Banco Mundial.

Por ejemplo, la economía apenas creció 0,4% en 2025, una cifra magra contra el 3,6% de Polonia y el 2,6% de la República Checa. Hungría es el país que más depende del gas ruso, por lo que fue uno de los más expuestos a la crisis de 2022 cuando Moscú invadió Ucrania. Budapest tuvo entonces la mayor inflación del bloque europeo. Los alimentos subieron 40% y la inflación fue del 22%.

El efecto fue la caída de los ingresos reales, el desplome del consumo y la desaceleración económica más aguda de la era Orbán. Para atenuarla, el Banco Central dispuso una tasa de interés del 6,25%, cuatro puntos más que la del Banco Central Europeo, lo que frenó inversiones y sofocó a las empresas. En Hungría no circula el euro, sino el florín.

Los húngaros sintieron el efecto del declive también en el aparato sanitario: según el Banco Mundial, el país invierte el 6,3% del PBI en salud, contra 8.06% de Polonia, 8,5% de República Checa y 7,4% de Eslovaquia.

De manera que, mirando la pujanza de países vecinos y comparándola con sus penurias, muchos húngaros parecen haber reparado con su voto en el dictamen de Transparencia Internacional que ubica a Hungría como la nación más corrupta del bloque europeo.

De acuerdo con el Corruption Research Centre de Budapest, en 2025 el 75% de los contratos gubernamentales fue a compañías asociadas a los amigos de Orbán, casi el doble que en 2022. Istvan Tiborcz, yerno del premier, y Lorinc Meszaros, un amigo de la infancia y el hombre más rico de Hungría, están entre los beneficiarios.

Todo este cuadro repercute además en la vital relación de Budapest con los cuantiosos fondos comunitarios que reparte la muy criticada Bruselas. Como sus auditores desconfían de que en Hungría se respete la ley y la independencia de las agencias de control, desde 2022 la UE congeló casi US$ 20.000 millones que debía enviar como ayuda post Covid. Para un Estado como Hungría, no es una bicoca: representa el 11% de su PBI.

Durante años, los conservadores europeos, con Angela Merkel a la cabeza, salvaron varias veces el cuello de Orbán. Requerían sus votos en el Parlamento Europeo frente al bloque de izquierda. Ya no lo necesitan. El alemán Manfred Weber, su presidente, fue descriptivo hace unos días: “Estamos hartos de Orban”, dijo. Según el voto de este domingo, los electores húngaros estuvieron muy de acuerdo.