Houthis seize Mayun island and Mokha, raising Red Sea shipping fears
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have captured Mayun, a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, in a swift advance that also saw them seize the key port city of Mokha. The developments further threaten Saudi oil exports through one of the world's main commercial shipping lanes and raise the risk of wider disruption in the region.
Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes on the airport in Mokha, according to a Houthi broadcaster, though there was no immediate report of damage or deaths. The capture of Mayun, also known as Perim, was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government and by a Houthi official. The tiny volcanic island lies about 3.5 kilometres off Yemen's west coast.
The Bab el-Mandeb has become a key alternative to the Strait of Hormuz as Iran has targeted vessels there. Hazam al-Assad, a member of the rebels' political bureau, told The Associated Press there was "no need for international concern", saying the Houthis were responding to Saudi aggression and that "our forces have a bank of big important targets" if Riyadh continues its strikes.
Earlier on Friday, Iran called for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen and backed the Houthis. In its first statement since the rebels entered the port, Iran's Foreign Ministry also called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. There was no immediate Saudi comment on Friday.
The Houthis' entry into Mokha on Thursday was their biggest territorial gain in years against their Saudi-backed Yemeni opponents, bringing them within 80 kilometres of the Bab el-Mandeb. A senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government said they were stunned that the Saudi air force did not strike the Houthis earlier as they advanced on Mokha. He assessed that Saudi Arabia did not get a green light from the United States for a large-scale air campaign. The same official blamed "lack of coordination" between Yemen's army and allied forces, saying it gave the Houthis "a priceless opportunity".
The Houthis have already attacked Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea since declaring a blockade there in July, and have also targeted oil infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia. They said this was in response to the kingdom's blockade of Houthi-held parts of Yemen, which has been in place for years. Experts say the capture of Mokha, which overlooks tanker routes out of the Red Sea, could strengthen Iran's strategy of raising world oil and gas prices to pressure the United States, while also giving Tehran greater leverage in any negotiations with Washington. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guard said any negotiated settlement with the US should include Yemen, the first explicit reference to that front.
Any new disruption in the waterway could affect global shipping and crude oil prices. Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb for crude exports as Iran has targeted vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. About 12 per cent of the world's goods usually pass through the strait. Shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb had fallen by about 60 per cent since the Houthis began attacking some ships there in late 2023 while expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Shipping increased this year as Saudi Arabia looked for alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have "curtailed" that activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
Saudi Arabia, which earlier this week said it had always offered "opportunities for negotiation", has also said it has the right to defend itself against the Houthi blockade. The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia spoke on Thursday about diplomatic efforts to "restore stability" to the region, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media.
The fighting has also sharpened fears of a return to Yemen's civil war, which has largely been held in check by a fragile truce since 2022. In a statement released on Friday, the National Defence Council of Yemen's Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government condemned the Houthis' renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia, said the government was on the front line of freedom of navigation, and called for international support as the rebels advanced along the Red Sea coast towards the Bab el-Mandeb.
With the fighting intensifying, the stakes are high for Yemen's 40 million people in the Arab world's poorest country. The conflict has killed 150,000 people and pushed many more to the brink of famine. The recent surge in fighting has already forced more than 46,000 people to flee, and the UN migration agency said large numbers of people were seen leaving Mokha overnight with their belongings. The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, when they seized much of northern and central Yemen, including Sanaa, before Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year in support of the government.
