Yemen’s Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, reached the strategic Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, according to four Yemeni government sources who spoke to Reuters. This could strengthen their control over one of the world’s most important maritime routes and further increase the threat to energy markets amid the escalating war in the Middle East.
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Previously, two sources from the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized Yemeni government had stated that their forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the coastal city of Dhubab on the Red Sea mainland, opposite the island.
If the Houthis gain full control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, located on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, this could give Iran, their ally, a crucial advantage in the war against the United States, reducing supply through a second major transit corridor and driving up oil prices.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the conflict with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil used to pass.
According to a Houthi broadcaster, Saudi airstrikes on Friday hit the airport of the Yemeni port city of Mocha, recently taken by the Iran-backed rebels, a day after the Houthis entered Mocha on the Red Sea, thus approaching the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthi advance further threatens commercial maritime transport on an important alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. However, Hazam al-Assad, a member of the rebels’ political bureau, told The Associated Press that there is no cause for international concern, adding that they are responding to Saudi aggression and that their forces have a number of important targets if Riyadh continues the attacks.
On Friday, the Iranian government called for an end to the Saudi blockade of Yemen and expressed support for its ally, the Houthis. In its first statement since the rebels entered the port, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged the resumption of negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
Experts say the rebels’ capture of Mocha, overlooking the tanker routes leaving the Red Sea, could strengthen Iran’s strategy to raise global oil and gas prices to pressure the United States. It also raises concerns about the possible opening of a new front after more than six months of war in the region, in which Saudi Arabia would be forced to respond.
Experts say events in Yemen could give Tehran greater influence in any negotiations with the United States. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard called for any negotiated agreement with the United States to include Yemen, the first explicit reference to that front.
Amid the escalation of the conflict in Yemen, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) called President Donald Trump twice on Thursday, urging him to launch attacks against the Houthis, as the Iran-backed group approached a vital strategic point in the Red Sea, two U.S. officials told Axios.
However, Trump rejected the request, and U.S. officials emphasized that, for now, the government does not plan to intervene directly against the Houthis.
U.S. military and civilian officials have also communicated to their Saudi counterparts in recent weeks that Trump’s directive is to keep U.S. forces focused on Iran and protecting the Strait of Hormuz, while avoiding opening another military front, Axios added.
In any case, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Central Command, traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis reignited in July after Riyadh prevented an Iranian plane carrying senior Houthi officials returning home after the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from landing in Sana’a.
