Houthis seize Yemen’s Mocha and advance towards strategic Red Sea islands

Mocha, Yemen. Iran-aligned Houthi forces seized control of the Yemeni port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced down the Red Sea coast towards strategic islands, military sources said.

The developments increased Houthi leverage near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s key shipping routes, according to Yemeni government military sources.

Advance towards the strait

Yemeni government military sources said Houthi forces had reached the Hanish islands, near the southern outlet of the Red Sea.

The sources said Yemeni government forces and their allies were relocating south along the Red Sea coast to Dhubab, on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and opposite Perim Island. Control of Dhubab and Perim Island is key to securing the strait, they said.

If the Houthis gain control of the waterway on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, Iran could gain an advantage in its war with the United States by affecting supplies through a second major transit corridor and pushing oil prices higher.

Shipping statement

Yemen’s Houthi-run humanitarian operations coordination centre said Red Sea navigation remained safe for all shipping companies except Saudi vessels.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil previously flowed.

International concerns

U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday that the international community must address “a new and more dangerous phase” in the Yemen war.

He said the Houthi capture of Mocha gave the group “a direct presence on the approaches to one of the world’s most vital straits” and raised serious concerns about freedom of navigation.

Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz, the U.S. representative at the meeting, accused the Houthis of acting as “agents and tools of Iran.”

US political context

The advance came hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the Iran war to end after the U.S. midterm elections.

The conflict has hurt the Republican Party’s electoral prospects ahead of the November midterms, making it more difficult for Trump to find an exit from the war.