# Bab al-Mandab

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Bab al-Mandab," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bab-al-mandab/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The strait where the Horn of Africa nearly meets the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, which John Kiriakou identifies as one of the few American national interests in Yemen and as a chokepoint whose closure would push the global economy into recession.*

- **Location:** Between the Horn of Africa and the south-western Arabian Peninsula
- **Width:** About nine miles of water from Djibouti
- **Threatened by:** [Houthis](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/houthis), July 2026
- **Consequence of closure:** Thirty days added to shipping routed around Africa

The **Bab al-Mandab** is the strait where the Horn of Africa almost meets the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, about nine miles of water across from [Djibouti](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/china-djibouti-base/), a crossing [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) made on his last trip to [Yemen](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/yemen) in 2011.[1]

## Why it matters

Ships that would otherwise transit the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandab must, if the strait closes, go all the way around Africa, thirty days added to the trip and billions of gallons of fuel. Kiriakou's assessment of the consequence is unqualified: "we're talking about the entire planet going into a recession and having to fight what's going to be out of control inflation."[2][3]

## The American interest

When the United States maintained that it had no national interests in Yemen, Kiriakou argued the opposite in a 2010 debate on Capitol Hill against Senator Susan Collins: the interests were counterterrorism, counter-piracy, and open trade through the Bab al-Mandab.[4][5] Collins disagreed. The next day [John Kerry](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kerry), then his boss on the [Senate Foreign Relations Committee](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/senate-foreign-relations-committee), asked whether he had debated her; Kiriakou said he had, and "if I may say so, I kicked her ass." Kerry did not think that was funny and told him never to do it again.[5][6]

## 2026

The [Houthi](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/houthis) blockade declaration of July 2026 made the chokepoint the second front of the Iran war, alongside the [Strait of Hormuz](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/strait-of-hormuz), and raised the prospect of Israeli F-35 strikes flown from [Somaliland](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/somali-land).[7][8]

## See also

- [Houthis](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/houthis)
- [Yemen](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/yemen)
- [Strait of Hormuz](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/strait-of-hormuz)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 28:29. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=1709s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
2. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 30:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=1800s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
3. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 30:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=1831s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
4. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 34:43. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=2083s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
5. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 35:15. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=2115s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
6. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 35:46. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=2146s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
7. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 21:49. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=1309s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/
8. John Kiriakou - Middle East on the Brink of a Major War After Houthi Move (2026-07-27), at 32:08. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR49AAOlitk&t=1928s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-27-national-security-files-john-kiriakou-middle-east-on-the-brink-of-a-m/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bab-al-mandab/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt