Houthi Fighters Seize Control of Yemen's Red Sea Coast, Threatening Global Shipping

Fighting has erupted along Yemen's Red Sea coast as Houthi fighters and Saudi forces clash over control of a key shipping route. The conflict marks a new front in the wider war between the United States and Iran, which is now in its seventh month.

Houthi fighters seized the last government-held towns on the Red Sea coast early Friday, September 11, after forces loyal to the internationally recognized government withdrew. The group then took control of Mayun island, also known as Perim, which sits directly in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Africa.

The capture of the island gives Houthi commanders a strategic position from which they could threaten ships heading to and from the Red Sea. This development has analysts describing it as a worst-case outcome long feared by Western officials: Iran-aligned forces holding influence over both of the region's principal oil chokepoints at once.

Saudi Arabia responded to the Houthi advance with air strikes on Mokha airport, but no deaths or damage were reported. The country also shut down its East-West pipeline after it was struck by drones a day earlier, citing it as a precautionary measure.