Iran-backed rebels in Yemen captured strategic locations along the Red Sea on Thursday and Friday, potentially expanding Tehran’s influence over another key Middle Eastern waterway.
On Friday, the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait was captured by the Houthis, two sources in the Saudi-backed Yemeni government told CNN. A day earlier, Houthi fighters captured the port town of Mocha, the information minister told CNN.
The news sent shockwaves worldwide over the potential impact on global shipping.
A gateway to the route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandeb is a geopolitical chokepoint similar to the Strait of Hormuz, linking Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal. While it is less critical to oil trade than Hormuz, it still carries essential goods worldwide, including millions of barrels of oil every day.
The development coincides with a wider regional escalation of the war between Iran and the United States, after Tehran warned this week that it would step up hostilities against the US, which maintains a stringent naval blockade of Iran and continues to launch military strikes on the country.
