Iran-backed Houthi fighters have advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive against Saudi-backed forces, seizing towns and pushing onto islands near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Al Jazeera. The offensive included the capture of the port city of Mokha, located about 75 kilometers north of the Bab el-Mandeb waterway, as well as nearby Dhubab and the rocky Perim Island—also known as Mayyun—situated at the heart of the strait.
Houthis Seize Key Yemeni Coastal Towns and Shipping Chokepoints
Government sources and witnesses reported that the rebel group pushed onto islands in the Bab el-Mandeb strait after government forces withdrew. The Sanaa-based Yemen Press Agency, citing field sources, stated that Houthi forces also seized the al-Omari camp overlooking the strait. A statement posted on X by the Houthis’ military spokesman, Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, said the operation resulted in the expulsion of Saudi-backed forces from six districts covering a total area of 5,400 square kilometers, with hundreds killed, captured, or wounded.
Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, noted that while the Houthis appear to be taking swift control of the coastline, full sovereign control of the strait is limited because the western littoral remains outside Yemen. However, Krieg warned that the advance gives the group a dramatically stronger ability to contest, threaten, and potentially deny commercial use of the waterway, creating an extraordinary shock to the global trading system.
Global Energy Markets and Oil Prices Jolt Higher
The escalation along Yemen’s coast coincides with broader disruptions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, sending shockwaves through international energy markets. Brent crude prices shot up to nearly $110 a barrel, while diesel prices in the United States surpassed $6 a gallon, according to NPR. Data from CNBC indicated that oil and refined products continue to tick upwards as Tehran and Washington remain locked in conflict.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait serves as a vital alternative route for crude moving toward Asia and Europe, particularly after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia had previously been re-routing its crude through an east-west pipeline to Red Sea terminals as a fallback measure. With Houthi forces now targeting shipping in the southwestern corridor, Saudi oil tankers face heightened risks, forcing exporters to rely on longer and costlier routes through the Suez Canal or around Africa.
Analysts at ING noted that Saudi energy infrastructure and crude oil exports from the Red Sea are increasingly at risk. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency forecast that global oil supply and demand are likely to fall further as the ongoing war delays normal Middle East energy flows.
Humanitarian Impact and Regional Fallout
The renewed fighting has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration reported that at least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated, with figures rising rapidly by the hour across the West Coast and Taiz governorates. Displaced families are arriving at humanitarian sites that lack emergency food stocks and shelter supplies.
The political landscape in Yemen has grown increasingly fractured. Amr al-Bidh, from the Southern Transitional Council, stated that southern groups are concerned about defending their territory as the conflict shifts. Meanwhile, Houthi officials maintained that international shipping faces no danger outside of vessels linked to Saudi Arabia. Hazem al-Assad, a member of the Houthi politburo, insisted that freedom of navigation remains safe and orderly while calling for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen.
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