Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, potentially strengthening their control over one of the world’s most important shipping corridors.
Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters on Friday that the Houthis had entered Perim after Saudi-backed government forces withdrew from the island.
Two of the sources also said the rebels had seized Dhubab, a mainland Red Sea coastal town facing Perim.
Control of Perim and nearby coastal areas could give the Houthis greater leverage over maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Any major disruption to the route could further pressure global trade and push oil prices higher.
The development comes as Saudi Arabia increasingly depends on the Red Sea route to move crude after the Iran conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi crude supply dropped by 2.3 million barrels per day in August to six million bpd, its lowest level in more than three decades, according to the International Energy Agency.
The Houthi advance also follows the rebels’ seizure of the Red Sea port city of Mokha, which brought them within about 50 miles of the Bab el-Mandeb.
Saudi airstrikes subsequently hit Mokha airport on Friday, according to a Houthi broadcaster, although there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Reacting to the escalating conflict, Houthi political bureau member Hazam al-Assad told The Associated Press there was “no need for international concern,” adding that “our forces have a bank of big important targets” if Saudi Arabia continues its attacks.
The renewed fighting threatens to undermine a fragile truce that has largely kept Yemen’s civil war at bay since 2022.
The Houthis have fought Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2014, while Saudi Arabia intervened the following year in support of the government.
