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Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize strategic Red Sea port in Yemen
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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize strategic Red Sea port in Yemen The rebel group took over Yemen's port of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize key port and island The rebel group took over Yemen's port of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said.
− Middle East Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize strategic Red Sea port in Yemen September 11, 20261:40 AM ET By
The Associated Press
Yemen's Houthi rebels gather during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept.
+ Middle East Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize a strategic port and island, opening a new battlefront Updated September 11, 20262:06 PM ET Originally published September 11, 20261:40 AM ET By
The Associated Press
Yemen's Houthi rebels gather during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday.
− 10, 2026. STR/AP hide caption
ADEN, Yemen — The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group on Thursday took over Yemen's port city of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said.
+ AP hide caption
CAIRO — Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, two officials said Friday, opening a new front in the Iran war and further threatening Saudi oil exports through one of the world's key shipping lanes.
− The takeover gives Iran another potential point of leverage in its war with the U.S., analysts said, if the Houthis use their presence in Mokha to ramp up threats or attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
+ Middle East conflict Why gains by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen could push gas prices even higher The Houthis' biggest territorial gains in years, along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, could boost Iran's strategy of driving up world oil and gas prices to pressure the United States.
− Mokha is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and through which about 12% of the world's goods are typically shipped.
The map above shows where Houthi rebels have taken over a strategic port city in Yemen that further threatens a vital shipping route.
+ Saudi Arabia struck the airport in the nearby port city of Mokha that the Houthis seized Thursday, a Houthi broadcaster said.
− (AP Digital Embed) Phil Holm/AP hide caption
The Bab el-Mandeb's importance to global oil supplies has grown since shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz has been impeded by Iran during its war with the United States and Israel.
+ There were no reports of damage or deaths.
− The Houthis kept mostly to the sidelines when the Iran war began, but over the summer the rebels increased attacks against Yemen's internationally recognized government and declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia, which supports it.
+ The capture of Mayun, a tiny, barren volcanic island inside the strait also known as Perim, was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognized government and by a Houthi official.
− While the Houthis have their own reasons for fighting the Saudis, the conflict also serves Iran's interests by ramping up pressure on the American-allied oil producer as Tehran seeks leverage against the U.S.
+ Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
− The Houthis' takeover of Mokha was confirmed to The Associated Press by Ahmed Baash, a commander with the National Resistance Forces allied with Yemen's government, and Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthis' political bureau.
Mokha represents the Houthis' biggest territorial gain since a truce was signed in 2022 to end a civil war that began more than a decade ago.
+ Middle East conflict Amid U.S.-Iran war, Houthis declare a blockade of another key strait: Bab el-Mandeb Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has increasingly relied on the Red Sea to get its crude to market as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been striking ships.
− 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 Yemen's government since 2014, when the rebels swept down from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen.
+ Houthi moves to close the 28-kilometer-wide (17-mile) Bab el-Mandeb channel have made that route more complicated.
− Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.
+ Saudi officials declined a request by The Associated Press for comment on the developments.
− Middle East conflict Amid U.S.-Iran war, Houthis declare a blockade of another key strait: Bab el-Mandeb Residents of Mokha told AP that Houthi forces could be seen throughout the city Thursday and that markets were shuttered.
+ In a statement Friday, the Houthi armed forces boasted of gains along the coast without mentioning the island, Mokha or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
− Mokha was long held by forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized government.
+ They vowed "escalation for escalation" in the confrontation with Saudi Arabia, while declaring that "maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels."
A map showing the Houthis capturing territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Will Jarrett/AP hide caption
Still, markets are nervous, and experts have described the Houthis as highly unpredictable. Crude prices this week soared once again above $100 a barrel, giving Tehran more leverage in any talks.
− Mokha resident Amin al-Mohammdi said roads from the west coast leading to Mokha were closed and shops were shuttered.
+ The Houthis have been attacking Saudi shipping on the Red Sea since declaring a blockade in July, as well as oil infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia.
− Resident Mohamed Salem said he saw vehicles belonging to Houthi forces in the streets.
+ The rebels said they acted in response to the kingdom's yearslong blockade of Houthi-held parts of Yemen.
− Three doctors told the AP they fled a Mokha hospital after it was seized by the Houthis.
+ A senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognized government told the AP they were stunned that the Saudi air force did not try to prevent the capture of Mokha, which is within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the strait, by striking the Houthis as they advanced.
− The doctors spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their safety.
+ He assessed that Saudi Arabia didn't get a green light from the U.S.
− They said other residents were fleeing south, toward the city of Aden, which is controlled by the Saudi-backed forces.
+ to embark on a large-scale air campaign.
− The Houthis recently made advances in the western province of Taiz, where Mokha is located, according to Ahmed al-Mawazi, a trooper with the Yemeni armed forces, and Abdel Kader al-Sharabi, a member of the Saudi-backed forces supporting the Yemeni government.
+ The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to speak to the media, also blamed "lack of coordination" between Yemen's army and multiple allied militias, saying it gave the Houthis "a priceless opportunity."
Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait had fallen by about 60% since the Houthis began attacking some ships there in late 2023 and expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Shipping increased this year as Saudi Arabia sought alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have "curtailed" that activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
− Both said the rebels had seized control of the al-Shaqira area in Taiz, an important supply route for Yemeni government forces in south Hodeida.
The mountainous terrain around Taiz gives the Houthis a strategic area overlooking Yemen's west coast, said Baraa Shiban, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
+ That has forced Saudi Arabia to find yet another alternative, sending its oil north out of the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, either via the Suez Canal or a pipeline through Egypt, a far longer route for its clients in Asia.
− The Houthis could potentially make shipping in the Red Sea more hazardous by laying mines in the water, similar to what Iran's Revolutionary Guard did in the Strait of Hormuz, Shiban said.
+ The Houthis have threatened that route as well, striking a Saudi vessel in the north of the Red Sea in late August.
− The Houthis' advance on Mokha potentially gives Iran leverage in its negotiations with the U.S., said Farea al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House specializing in Yemen and the Gulf.
Shipping through the Bab al Mandeb has fallen by about 60% since the Houthis began attacking ships there in late 2023, prompting many companies to abandon the route.
+ Earlier Friday, Iran's government called for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Houthi-held areas in a show of support for its ally.
− It briefly increased this year as Saudi Arabia sought alternatives to Hormuz; Saudi oil shipments were redirected via pipeline to the Red Sea port at Yanbu, but "renewed Houthi threats have curtailed" that activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
+ The Iranian Foreign Ministry also called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
− "This renewed war should alarm us all," the U.N.
+ In a sign of how important the Houthis have become for Tehran, the spokesperson for Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday called for any negotiated settlement with the U.S.
− special envoy for Yemen warned at an emergency meeting of the U.N.
+ to include Yemen, the first explicit reference to that front.
− Security Council on Thursday.
+ The call mirrored Iran's past stance that a truce in Lebanon between its ally Hezbollah and Israel must be a part of any deal with the U.S.
− "It effectively marks the end of the relative calm that Yemen has experienced for over four years since the U.N.-brokered truce," said the envoy, Hans Grundberg.
+ Saudi Arabia, which earlier this week said it had always offered "opportunities for negotiation," also has said it has the right to defend itself in response to the Houthis' blockade.
− He called on the international community to address this "new and more dangerous phase – one whose consequences, if left unchecked, will not stay within Yemen's borders."
Yemen's U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi said a single Yemen state with a monopoly on weapons that has sovereignty throughout the country which the government is seeking is "a fundamental guarantee" for security for Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the region.
+ The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia spoke Thursday about diplomatic efforts to "restore stability" to the region, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media.
− He called on the Security Council to condemn the Houthis' military escalation and to implement measures "prohibiting the supply of arms, components, technology, and military expertise to the militia" which are fueling the conflict.
+ As the Houthis swept along the Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb channel, Yemen's Saudi-backed government called for international support.
− Saudi U.N.
+ In a statement Friday from a meeting the previous day, its National Defense Council said it was on the front line of defending freedom of navigation and condemned the Houthis' renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The escalating fighting threatens to end a fragile truce that had largely halted Yemen's civil war since 2022.
− Ambassador Abdulaziz Alwasil said that the kingdom remains supportive of peace in Yemen but that it would "take all measures necessary to deter Houthi attacks."
Alwasil warned that "the kingdom's commitment to de-escalation and to supporting a political solution must not be allowed to become an opportunity that this militia exploits to continue its attacks and to threaten the security of the kingdom and the region."
At the U.N.
+ At stake are the 40 million people in the Arab world's poorest country who fear a return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine.
The surge in fighting in the past week has sent over 46,000 people fleeing, the U.N.
− meeting, U.S.
+ migration agency said Friday.
People seeking safety from the fighting are carrying few belongings, "whatever they can grab," Abdusattor Esoev, chief of mission in Yemen for the International Organization for Migration, said in an interview Friday.
− Minister Counselor Jenifer Neidhart warned that those who enable the escalation of Houthi attacks "bear responsibility for its consequences." Neidhart called for stronger implementation of U.N. sanctions against the militants to cut off "the resources that sustain their acts of terrorism."
Yemeni government forces have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi reinforcements west of Taiz, several residents of Mokha said, and the Yemeni government military has urged civilians to avoid roads between Taiz and Mokha.
+ He said the number of people displaced more than doubled this week and could still rise sharply.
− Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah TV claimed that Saudi-backed forces launched 40 airstrikes in recent hours in Taiz, Jawf, Hodeida and Marib provinces.
+ "You see the fears in their eyes, and people are scared," Esoev said.
The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, when the rebels swept from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen, and the capital of Sanaa.
− The AP couldn't independently verify the claim. There was no immediate comment from the government forces.
+ Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.