Another choke point for oil? Iran-backed Houthis seize Yemen’s Mocha port, threatening Red Sea shipping | Today’s news

Iran-backed Houthis seized control of the Yemeni port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced along the Red Sea coast towards strategic islands, military sources told Reuters. This posed another threat to traffic in the Red Sea, while traffic in the Persian Gulf remains restricted through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mocha is essential for the control of shipping across the Red Sea. The city is about 80 kilometers (50 mi) from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and through which about 12 percent of the world’s goods are typically transported.

The development came hours after US President Donald Trump said he expected the war in Iran to end after the US midterm elections.

Houthis forward

The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the Houthis’ gaining control of Mocha gave them a “direct presence on the approaches to one of the world’s most critical straits”, raising serious concerns about freedom of navigation.

According to Reuters, Yemeni government military sources said the Houthis had gained further influence over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern outlet of the Red Sea and one of the world’s most important sea lanes, and had reached the Hanish Islands.

The Houthi-run Yemeni Coordination Center for Humanitarian Operations said in a statement that navigation in the Red Sea is safe for all shipping companies except Saudi vessels.

The Bab el-Mandeb’s importance to global oil supplies has grown since shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz was restricted by Iran during its war with the United States and Israel.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil used to flow.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen on Thursday, Grundberg said the international community must act to address the “new and more dangerous phase” of Yemen’s war.

An advantage for Iran?

The takeover gives Iran additional potential leverage in its war with the US, analysts said, if the Houthis use their presence in Mocha to increase threats or attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

If the Houthis gain control of the waterway on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, it could give their backer Iran a critical advantage in a war with the United States, cut supplies through a second major transit corridor and boost oil prices, Reuters reported.

It also could make it harder for Trump to find a way out of the war that has hurt his GOP’s electoral prospects ahead of the November midterms.

Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz, the US representative at the meeting, accused the Houthis of acting as “agents and tools of Iran”.

“This escalation is unacceptable and those who enable it bear responsibility for its consequences,” she said.

Yemeni government forces and their allies are moving south along the Red Sea coast to Dhubab in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait opposite Perim Island, government military sources said. Controlling Dhubab and the island is key to gaining control of the strait, they said.

Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the conflict in Yemen cannot be resolved through a blockade or military action against the Houthis and called for dialogue without addressing Iran’s own role.

Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources told Reuters that the Houthi advance up the coast this week came with direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said, without elaborating, that the group’s operations are defensive and will stop once attacks on Yemen end.

Oil prices will jump

Brent crude jumped as much as 4 percent above $105 a barrel on Thursday on fears of supply disruptions, and the average U.S. diesel price topped $6 a gallon for the first time ever, according to price tracker GasBuddy.

After entering the war by attacking Israel in March, the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in July and escalated attacks this month.

Tensions remained high in the region, with Saudi civil defense authorities issuing emergency warnings in the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait for the fourth time in 24 hours as the Houthis attacked.

Pakistan issued a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in the Houthis and try to prevent the crisis from spiraling, Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources said. A senior Iranian official said Tehran’s response was: “Iran does not control the Houthis”.

The fighting comes amid the biggest declared wave of US-Iranian attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf since the war began in late February.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced new sanctions against companies and individuals helping Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies as part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” which aims to cut off war funding from Tehran.

A return to full-scale civil war?

Mocha represents the Houthis’ biggest territorial gain since a ceasefire was signed in 2022 to end the civil war that began more than a decade ago. A return to full-scale civil war would be devastating for the Yemeni people and potentially for world energy supplies.

The Houthis have been at war with the Yemeni government since 2014, when the rebels swept from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen. Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.

Residents of Mokha told the AP that Houthi forces were seen throughout the city on Thursday and that markets were closed. Mokha has long been held by forces associated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Mocha resident Amin al-Mohammdi said roads from the west coast leading to Mocha were closed and shops were closed. Resident Mohamed Salem said he saw vehicles belonging to Houthi forces in the streets.