The latest advance comes after the Iran-backed rebels seized other key islands last week, tightening their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital shipping route, and increasing pressure on Saudi oil exports

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The rebels were reported Friday to have captured Perim, an island vital to controlling the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.