Houthi capture of Mayun after Mokha raises fresh Red Sea shipping fears
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Friday seized the strategic island of Mayun after capturing the Red Sea port city of Mokha a day earlier, developments that raised fresh concerns over international shipping in the region. Iran, meanwhile, called on Saudi Arabia to end its blockade of Yemen and resume talks with the Houthis immediately.
In other developments, AI company Anthropic said it had blocked users in northern Yemen who were trying to develop advanced missiles. Iran also said it would meet Gulf Arab neighbours in Oman on Monday to discuss shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Israel said it had destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon and an Israeli strike in Gaza killed a man and wounded several others.
Mayun lies at the entrance to the Red Sea and is an important alternative route for Saudi oil and other exports, especially as Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The island's capture was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government and by a Houthi official, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.
Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes on the airport in Mokha, according to a Houthi broadcaster. There was no immediate report of damage or deaths. About 12 per cent of the world's goods are usually shipped through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, a route of particular importance to Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement on Friday that 'maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels'. Iran's Foreign Ministry backed its ally by calling for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen and an immediate return to negotiations with the Houthis.
Anthropic said it had identified and banned users in Houthi-held northern Yemen who were using its AI models for weapons development, in some cases through commercially available smartphones. The company said its models were being used in work linked to precision long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
According to Anthropic, the accounts used Claude Code to develop software that 'steers and stabilises a flying vehicle' and were also working on weapons including a guided rocket that would allow mobile phone users to track targets autonomously. The company said there was no evidence that the users in Yemen had succeeded in fielding a weapon. The Iran-backed Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have for years been accused of smuggling advanced weapons despite a blockade and a UN arms embargo, though Iran denies arming the rebels.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said a regional meeting involving Iran and other Persian Gulf countries, including Oman and Iraq, is planned for Monday in Oman. He said the talks would include earlier discussions between Iran and Oman on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and Oman, which lie on opposite sides of the strait, have held talks on managing ship traffic through the waterway, which has been heavily disrupted by the Iran war.
Before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, about a fifth of the world's traded oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, Iran has retaliated by repeatedly attacking neighbouring Gulf countries that host US military forces.
In Lebanon, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had completed the destruction of tunnels in the Ali Taher ridge in the south, which he said were built by Hezbollah with Iranian funding. The ridge has seen clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in recent weeks. Residents nearby reported loud explosions and ground shaking on Thursday, while Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
Israeli forces also continued demolishing houses in villages under their control in southern Lebanon. Residents displaced from the coastal village of Mansouri watched from a distance on Friday as Israeli drones carried boxes of explosives to be dropped on their homes. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Gaza, an Israeli strike on Friday killed a man walking on a street in Khan Younis and wounded several others, including children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the body and the wounded. The Israeli military said the strike had targeted a Hamas member. Mourners also held funeral prayers for two of three men killed in Khan Younis on Thursday, one of whom, Mohammad Yazouri, the Israeli military identified as a Hamas commander.
Friday's developments underscored the widening tensions across the region, with the Houthis advancing in Yemen, Iran pushing for talks on shipping, Anthropic flagging suspected weapons-related AI use in northern Yemen, and Israel reporting military action in both Lebanon and Gaza.
