A new flash point in the Iran war: The narrow strait called the 'Gate of Tears'

The useful part

The narrow strait called the 'Gate of Tears' Nabih Bulos To visit Bab el-Mandeb is to understand that old adage about looks being deceiving. For this humble fishing village in Yemen, a tumbledown grouping of barely-there huts nestled between the water and an imposing mountain range, stands sentinel over one of the world's most vital waterways. The village shares its name with the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow passageway connecting the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea that's become another flash point in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

How it works

• If the Yemeni government knew how to invest in it, we would be rich.
• Instead, look around you," he said, pausing as his gaze took in the sorry-looking boats haphazardly laid on the beach.

Details worth keeping

"You hear so much about Bab el-Mandeb, you'd think we would be like New York, with skyscrapers and money," said Saleh, a 58-year-old resident who, like all people interviewed here, refused to give their full name to avoid reprisals. We should be bringing in billions of dollars. "We have nothing." Saleh was interviewed in January, when Bab el-Mandeb was thrust into the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the friendly-but-occasionally-fractious backers of Yemen's internationally recognized government.