Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis took control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Friday, after capturing an island located in the middle of the crucial Red Sea waterway, a local government official and eyewitnesses said.
“Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday,” the official said, referring to a rocky volcanic island also known as Perim that divides the narrowest part of the strait into two shipping lanes.
“The Houthis have completed their takeover of the Bab el-Mandeb area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
An eyewitness said gunmen were “deploying along the Bab el-Mandeb shore and are driving around in military vehicles.”
Further reports emerged on Friday that the group also seized the town of Dhubab and the coastal village of Murad, meaning that all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast was now under Houthi control in an 18-hour blitz.
Government military sources said that the Houthis have besieged government troops on the Hanish islands, following earlier reports that the Zuqar island — the largest of the major islands in the Red Sea archipelago further north from Bab el-Mandeb — was already captured.
They said they were unsure about the status of their soldiers, who number more than 2,000, but believe the Houthis have ordered them to surrender.
A senior military official said that the besieged forces have appealed to authorities for “rescue, food and water, and the lifting of the siege, which would require air support”.
On Thursday, Houthis captured the strategic port city of Mokha from government forces in a blitz offensive that also saw them taking control of Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea “after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters,” according to military sources.
By Thursday evening, multiple videos appeared online of Houthi fighters’ apparent celebrations in Mokha and their seizure of considerable weapons and equipment left behind by government forces. Euronews could not verify the authenticity of the footage.
The Houthis, who controlled about one-third of Yemen’s territory prior to the offensive, have previously targeted shipping in the narrow waterway which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb account for more than one quarter of seaborne crude oil and petroleum trade. Nearly one-third of the world’s container traffic passes through the Red Sea alone.
The Houthis have also reportedly consulted with Tehran on imposing a safe passage toll through the strait over the summer, in an apparent plot to further strain global economies.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has repeatedly warned of Houthi plans for taking control of the waterway, whose name in Arabic means “Gate of Tears”.
Houthis marching on
Formally known as Ansar Allah, the Houthis came to power in late 2014 after storming Sana’a and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites, forcing Yemen’s government into exile.
The group is part of Tehran’s so-called Axis of Resistance — a loose network of militant groups in several countries in the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and militias in Iraq, all backed, trained and equipped by the IRGC to varying degrees.
The group triggered a return to hostilities in Yemen’s civil war in July, when they let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.
Riyadh retaliated by striking the airport, triggering the Houthis to declare a blockade on the kingdom targeting its oil trade in July.
The Houthis engaged in a large-scale offensive last week against government forces backed by Saudi Arabia, while also launching attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens wounded, leading Riyadh to respond with daily strikes on Houthi-held parts of Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, which earlier this week said it had always offered “opportunities for negotiation,” also said it has the right to defend itself.
Houthi attacks on oil infrastructure and Saudi tankers have further contributed to a spike in oil prices, which surpassed $100 a barrel on Thursday.
A friend in need
Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a NATO-style mutual defence agreement with Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan in Mecca, but it seems unlikely either of the two would get involved.
On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would “honour” the pact “in case there is a need”.
Just one day later, the Pakistan foreign ministry said that the Mecca pact was a “defensive alliance focused on deterrence”.
“There is no such thing under discussion right now. When the time comes, we will act under the agreement,” spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told the press at the weekly media briefing.
In July, US President Donald Trump said Washington would respond against the Houthis if they attempted to block maritime traffic in the Red Sea, after weeks of US strikes from March 2025 — early in Trump’s second term — hit a range of military and industrial targets.
However, Washington is reportedly reluctant to enter the fray at this time as it remains bogged down in its own war with Iran since February.
According to US outlets, Trump rejected a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for strikes on Houthi positions as they approached Mokha on Thursday. Riyadh and the White House are yet to comment on these reports.
Tehran chimed in on Friday, calling for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen and the immediate resumption of talks, in its first public statement since the Houthi Red Sea offensive.
In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran’s foreign ministry said Yemen’s sovereignty must be respected, and its problems cannot be resolved through a blockade or military alliances.
Meanwhile, reports have claimed that Iran’s elite paramilitary IRGC has deployed dozens of advisors to aid the Houthis in their operations. Euronews could not independently verify the claims at this time.
A potential disruption to Bab el-Mandeb would work in Iran’s favour, as its blockade of Hormuz has put significant pressure on the world’s energy markets, sparking a crisis that could worsen even further as the northern hemisphere approaches winter.
The leader of Yemen’s internationally recognised governing council on Thursday urged Arab and other nations to help it defend the country’s coasts.
“The protection of Yemen’s coasts and the restoration of state control over its territory, ports and waters is a joint Yemeni, Egyptian, Arab and international interest,” said Rashad al-Alimi, who heads Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, during a meeting with Egypt’s ambassador.
Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.