The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in Africa, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

At its narrowest point, the strait is about 26 to 30 kilometers (16 to 19 miles) wide. It is divided by Perim Island into two channels. The eastern channel, called Bab Iskender, is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide and relatively shallow, with a depth of around 30 meters (about 100 feet). The western channel, called Dact-el-Mayun, is much wider—about 23 to 25 kilometers (14 to 16 miles)—and significantly deeper, at roughly 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) or more.

Most large ships use the deeper western channel, while the eastern channel is more restricted due to its shallow depth.

Iran’s Houthis allies in Yemen launched more than 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab in 2023–2025. That would further wreck supply chains but is more of a headache than a blockade as the goods could travel via Suez and around the Cape of Good Hope.