Iran-backed Houthi forces took control of the Yemeni port city of Mokha on Thursday after several days of fighting with forces aligned to the internationally recognized government. Mokha lies roughly 50 miles from Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and carrying oil, container traffic and other global commerce.
Saudi-backed Yemeni units withdrew from the city as the Houthis advanced, according to Yemeni officials cited by Associated Press; the exact condition of the port was not immediately clear. The Houthis also threatened positions closer to the strait, while Saudi Arabia said it would take measures necessary to defend itself and maintain access to export routes.
Axios reported that the Saudi crown prince briefed the U.S. president on the deterioration and urged action, an account sourced to unnamed U.S. officials rather than a public Saudi transcript. The advance follows renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi targets and occurs as Iran continues to use pressure around Hormuz during its war with the United States and Israel.
About 12 percent of world oil and other goods normally passes through Bab el-Mandeb, making changes in control along Yemen’s coast relevant to shipping far outside the region. A 2022 truce reduced the intensity of Yemen’s civil war without producing a permanent political settlement or unified security authority. Port capture does not by itself prove that the Houthis can close the strait; missiles, drones, naval patrols, insurance rules and merchant decisions all affect actual traffic.
At the edition deadline, independent access to Mokha was restricted, and claims about the number of combatants, casualties and the next direction of the Houthi advance were incomplete. The next documented developments will be satellite and maritime confirmation of port operations and vessel movements and Saudi-backed counteroperations or negotiations intended to prevent renewed civil war.