Asia · updated 1h ago · 4 min read
Iran-Backed Houthis Seize Mokha, Threatening Bab Al-Mandab Strait Shipping
Houthis seized Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port near Bab al-Mandab Fighting spread across four provinces as government forces clash with Houthis
Houthis seizure confirmed vs not publicly confirmed.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: houthis advise on safe passage toll through the strait.
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The New York Times
“The Iran-backed Houthi militia captured a strategic Red Sea port city on Thursday, according to two Yemeni officials”Read the original ↗
Mainstream outlets differ on confirmation strength, affecting perceived certainty of territorial control.
Mokha seized, Bab al-Mandeb
Renewed fighting along Yemen’s Red Sea coast has put the Bab Al-Mandab Strait back in focus as Houthi forces move toward the port city of Mokha and Dhubab, raising concerns over a key maritime route linking Europe and Asia.
“oil trade through Bab Al-Mandab averaged about 4 million barrels per day”
The strait is described as a narrow passage between Yemen and the Horn of Africa that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean, forming part of the route ships take between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea before entering the Gulf of Aden.
Arab News says oil flows through the strait fell sharply after Houthi attacks on shipping began disrupting Red Sea traffic, and it cites the US Energy Information Administration saying oil trade through Bab Al-Mandab averaged about 4 million barrels per day in the first eight months of 2024 compared with 8.7 million barrels per day in 2023.
The New York Times reports that the Iran-backed Houthi militia routed Yemeni government forces in Mokha, seizing the city and its port in a ground offensive that could allow the group to exert greater control over an important international shipping route.T
France 24, citing a Yemeni military source, says the Houthis seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha on Thursday and that the group reported fresh strikes by Saudi forces as it advanced towards the Bab al-Mandab strait after taking control of Mokha.
Escalation and competing claims
In Yemen, the renewed hostilities are unfolding alongside intensifying regional tensions, with Al Jazeera saying the internationally recognised government blamed the Houthis for an artillery attack that killed three children while Saudi Arabia accused the Iran-backed group of continuing to strike the kingdom’s infrastructure.
Al Jazeera also reports that the Houthis promised to retaliate for what they said were 54 Saudi airstrikes in a 12-hour span, and it quotes a Houthi spokesman, Yahya Saree, saying, "These air strikes and the ongoing aggression against our country will not go unanswered and unpunished, by the will and power of God."
France 24 says witnesses saw Houthi forces entering Mokha on Thursday while chanting "death to America, death to Israel," and it adds that the Houthis reported airstrikes including Saba’s claim that Saudi forces conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib.
The New York Times frames the Mokha seizure as part of the Houthis’ ability to attack ships in a crucial waterway for global trade, while France 24 says the Houthis also seized Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters.T
Euronews says the Houthis’ offensive is meant to replicate Iran's Hormuz blockade in the Bab al-Mandeb, and it quotes Major-General Sadeq Duwaid warning that the Houthi siege of Mokha seeks to establish a presence along the shores of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and transform the area into a situation resembling that of the Strait of Hormuz.E
What’s at stake next
Multiple outlets tie the Mokha advance and the push toward the Bab al-Mandeb to the risk of wider shipping disruption, with Arab News describing the strait as one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints for ships traveling between Asia and Europe.
“add thousands of kilometers to some journeys, increasing sailing times”
Arab News says ships can avoid Bab Al-Mandab and the Red Sea by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, but it warns that can add thousands of kilometers to some journeys and increase sailing times, fuel consumption, insurance costs and freight rates.
Middle East Forum argues that if the Houthis retain new high ground around Mokha, they can move positions and firing zones closer to maritime approaches to the strait, and it says that a sustained presence around the strait’s approaches can connect control of the land with pressure on maritime traffic.
The New York Times adds that Mokha is less than 50 miles from the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, underscoring why officials say the seizure could strengthen the Houthis’ leverage over an important international shipping route.T
Euronews says cargo traffic through Bab el-Mandeb accounts for one quarter of daily petroleum and crude shipments and nearly one-third of the world's maritime trade, while The National reports that Mokha is about 75km from the Bab Al Mandeb strait and that the capture could have implications well beyond the fighting in Yemen if it becomes the start of a Houthi push toward Dhubab and Bab Al Mandeb.E