Yemen's Houthis reportedly seize strategic Red Sea port of Mokha

Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi movement has taken control of the Red Sea port city of Mokha, wresting it from Saudi‑backed pro‑government forces after fierce night‑time fighting on Wednesday. The capture places the rebels only about 75 km (46 miles) from the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and serves as a critical conduit for global trade between Asia and Europe. While the Houthis claim they will not threaten international shipping, they reiterated their intent to target Saudi vessels, a stance that follows a broader campaign of missile and drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities and cities. The seizure follows a week‑long Houthi offensive in southwest Yemen that has already caused hundreds of deaths, displaced thousands, and spurred a surge in oil prices as the conflict intensifies.

The strategic gain for the Houthis is twofold: it brings them within striking distance of the Bab al‑Mandab and expands their territorial foothold along the western coast, including the recent capture of Zuqar Island about 80 km north‑west of Mokha. The advance underscores Tehran’s alleged support for the rebels, a factor the pro‑government National Resistance Forces’ leader Tarek Salah blamed for the heavy losses his troops have suffered. The loss of Mokha has forced many residents to flee eastward toward Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council, with families reporting sudden attacks, injuries on the streets and the abrupt closure of government offices and shops. The Houthi Supreme Political Council announced that clashes had ceased after expelling “Saudi enemy mobilisations,” while the Saudi‑led coalition vowed retaliation after a series of Houthi missile and drone attacks on the southwestern Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan, which earlier in the week injured 73 civilians and temporarily halted oil‑facility operations.

The fallout from Mokha’s fall reverberates across the region’s security and economic landscape. Saudi Arabia, which relies heavily on Red Sea routes for oil exports after the U.S.‑Israel conflict curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, faces heightened pressure to protect its maritime interests and respond to the Houthi maritime embargo. The Presidential Leadership Council’s head, Rashad al‑Alimi, appealed to Arab states and the international community for assistance in restoring state control over Yemen’s coasts. Meanwhile, the Houthis’ humanitarian coordination centre emphasized that navigation in the Red Sea remains safe despite the ongoing embargo on Saudi ships, attempting to allay international concerns. The continued back‑and‑forth of air strikes—64 Saudi attacks across western Yemeni provinces in the previous 24 hours—combined with the rebels’ ground advances suggests a protracted escalation that could further disrupt global oil markets and deepen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

⚡ Effects Interpreter