Houthis Seize Strategic Port City in Yemen, Raising Global Oil Supply Concerns
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has taken control of the strategic port city of Mokha in Yemen, located about 80 kilometers from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The takeover gives Iran a potential point of leverage in its war with the U.S., as analysts suggest the Houthis may use their presence to ramp up threats or attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Mokha is an area vital to controlling shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and carries about 12% of the world's goods. The importance of this waterway has grown since shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz was impeded by Iran during its war with the United States and Israel.
The Houthis' advance on Mokha potentially gives Iran leverage in its negotiations with the U.S., as Farea al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House specializing in Yemen and the Gulf, points out. The Houthi's actions may also make shipping in the Red Sea more hazardous by laying mines in the water.