Iran-Backed Houthis Seize Mayun Island, Strengthening Control Of Bab El Mandeb Strait

Iran-backed Houthis took the island of Mayun this Friday, strengthening their control over the Bab el Mandeb Strait after “the ships carrying the Houthi fighters reached the island after government forces withdrew yesterday,” according to a local official cited by AFP and also reported by Reuters.A

“the ships carrying the Houthi fighters reached the island after government forces withdrew yesterday”

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The advance followed a rapid offensive that began last week, with the Houthis controlling large areas of western Yemen and expanding positions along the Red Sea coast while government-aligned forces entered the Dhubab district opposite the island on Friday.

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Before reaching Mayun, the Houthis seized the port city of Mocha about 70 kilometers north of the strait and took control of the Al Hudaydah province after capturing the Hays district, while also occupying the islands of Zuqar, Hanish Major, and Hanish Minor in the Hanish archipelago.

The capture of Mayun gives the Houthis a “privileged position over Bab el Mandeb,” a strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and, through it, to the Indian Ocean, linking to the Suez Canal for ships heading toward the Mediterranean.

In parallel, the Houthis said this Thursday that passage through the Red Sea and Bab el Mandeb is “safe” and that international trade is proceeding normally, while the internationally recognized Yemeni government and its allies insist the rebels pose a threat to navigation and regional security.

Hisham Al-Omeisy, senior Yemen advisor at the European Institute of Peace, warned that the shift in control creates a pricing shock, telling Fox News Digital, “Which basically is going to drive prices — oil prices, goods and everything else — up exponentially.”

A senior administration official also spoke to Fox News Digital about U.S. posture, saying, “The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”

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In Yemen, the Houthis’ territorial gains were framed by Al Jazeera as a move that could reshape the southern front, with the outlet reporting that the group took over Mocha on Thursday while internationally recognised government forces withdrew, citing sources for the seizure.

Al Jazeera also quoted Council head Rashad al-Alimi saying the developments around Mocha port and Bab al-Mandeb “are not a purely Yemeni affair”, but a regional and international matter tied to global trade.

The same reporting described a push toward Dhubab after the Mocha advance, and it quoted Tariq Saleh describing the government’s regrouping as a “tactical withdrawal” to reorganise forces.

The escalation has raised humanitarian alarms, with ABC News reporting that renewed fighting over the weekend left “676 people were killed or injured and more than 20,000 people were displaced,” citing the World Health Organization.

“676 people were killed or injured and more than 20,000 people were displaced”

ABC

ABC News also reported that videos verified by the outlet showed Houthi militants entering the city of Mocha unopposed on Sept. 10, and it said controlling the city would give the Houthis control of nearly all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, according to analysts.

On the shipping front, ABC News said the Houthis have stepped up attacks on crucial shipping through the Red Sea, and it noted that traffic overall remains down some 60% from levels before then, even as the Bab el-Mandeb route remains a key freight lane between Asia and Europe.

AFP reported that the Houthis seized Mayyun after capturing territory along the coast, and a local official with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said the Houthis had “completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island.”A

AFP added that the offensive has cost more than 500 lives and displaced about 46,000 people, with the UN migration agency saying on Friday that the displacement figure stood at about 46,000.A