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Arab League: Egypt lost $6bn due to Houthi operations in Red Sea

October 14, 2024 at 1:10 pm

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Moscow, Russia on October 09, 2023 [Sefa Karacan – Anadolu Agency]

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, said that the Houthi group’s operations in the Red Sea have cost Egypt $6 billion in losses in the Suez Canal.

In an interview with journalist and TV presenter, Ahmed Moussa on the programme ‘On My Responsibility’ yesterday, he added that the losses also affected Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Aboul Gheit noted that the Middle East is on a hot plate and there are great tensions.

He pointed out that Iran has arms and armed groups in the region that it uses to protect its interests, adding, “Iran will not stop its actions as long as there is a confrontation with the West.”

“Iran is rushing its position to finish its nuclear programme, and it has taken advantage of the past six months given the Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon,” he added.

He noted that Egypt’s enemies were happy with the impact on navigation in the Suez Canal as a result of the Houthis’ actions in the Red Sea.

The movement has launched repeated drone and missile strikes on Israel bound or linked ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in support of Palestinians in Gaza. This has forced shipping companies to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Read: Egypt refuses to attack Houthis despite loss of revenue at Suez Canal