Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Monday announced they had captured Greater and Lesser Hanish Island in the southern Red Sea.
The move bolsters the group's ability to choke traffic in another key global maritime shipping route as the ripple-effect of the war in Iran grows.
The strategic advance comes as Saudi-backed Yemeni forces try to regain territory recently lost near the Bab el-Mandab Strait, an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz — which Iran has held closed since US President Donald Trump began bombing the Islamic Republic on February 28.
The closure of the Hormuz Strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the US began hostilities, has led to a global economic and energy emergency, driving up prices around the world and forcing petro-monarchy Saudi Arabia to move its oil exports through Bab el-Mandab.
But the Houthis have declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and last week seized strategic Mayun Island and the Red Sea port of Mokha, cutting off the alternative route.
