Yemen’s Houthi movement completed a rapid offensive that gives Iran-aligned forces a commanding position over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
On Friday, Houthi fighters reached Perim Island (also called Mayyun) after Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces withdrew. They also took the mainland town of Dhubab facing the island and, according to officials, other coastal positions and nearby islands.
The group declared its offensive a success and said it had expelled government forces from six districts. It claimed maritime traffic would remain safe—except for Saudi vessels.
Perim sits at the strait’s narrowest point and splits the waterway into two shipping channels. Combined with Iran’s pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, the two chokepoints handle a large share of global seaborne oil and a significant portion of container traffic.
Analysts called the island’s capture a “game changer” because it moves Houthi firepower from the approaches into the strait itself.
The advance comes as the United States and Israel remain at war with Iran. Saudi Arabia has been routing more oil via the Red Sea after Hormuz disruptions. Satellite imagery also showed smoke near Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. Oil markets reacted immediately.
The Houthis’ move tightens Tehran’s leverage over energy flows at the exact moment Washington is trying to squeeze Iran’s exports and keep sea lanes open.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it would try to retake the lost ground. Whether that happens quickly is now one of the most closely watched questions in the wider Middle East war.
