Iranian Proxy Seizes Strategic Port, Threatens Second Global Shipping Chokepoint [WATCH]

Iran-backed Houthi forces seized Yemen’s strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced toward positions near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising fresh concerns about international shipping and energy markets as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily restricted, as reported by Fox News.

The latest territorial gains put the Houthis closer to a critical maritime passage connecting the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea.

The development comes as Saudi Arabia has increasingly used the Red Sea route to move crude oil while avoiding the severely constrained Strait of Hormuz.

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The result could place pressure on major shipping lanes on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula.

“Now you have Iran on one side of the Arabian Peninsula controlling Hormuz, and now the Houthis controlling Bab el-Mandeb on the other side of the peninsula,” Hisham Al-Omeisy, senior Yemen advisor at the European Institute of Peace, told Fox News Digital.

“Which basically is going to drive prices — oil prices, goods and everything else — up exponentially.”

Yemeni government sources said the Houthis captured Mocha and reached the Hanish Islands Thursday.

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Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces reportedly withdrew south toward Dhubab, which sits opposite the strategic island of Perim near the Bab el-Mandeb.

Control of Dhubab and Perim could become important to any effort to establish greater control over the strait, according to Yemeni government sources cited by Reuters.

Bab el-Mandeb is approximately 18 miles wide at its narrowest point. The strait is a major commercial artery for goods traveling between Asia and Europe and is also important for energy shipments.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Sept. 9 that crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through Bab el-Mandeb averaged 8.1 million barrels per day during the second quarter of 2026.

That represented an increase from 5.4 million barrels per day during the final quarter of 2025.

At the same time, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply, from 21.6 million barrels per day to 4.9 million barrels per day.

The EIA attributed part of the increase at Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi Arabia rerouting crude through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Al-Omeisy said the Houthi gains could also strengthen the group militarily because retreating government forces left equipment behind.

“People are focused on taking Mocha and those outposts on the Red Sea,” Al-Omeisy said.

“But the military side is terrible, particularly the equipment, the munitions, the vehicles, the drones that were at those military camps, which they can now, in turn, use against the government forces elsewhere.”

Reuters separately reported that Iranian arms and direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assisted the Houthi advance.

Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran instructed the Houthis to intensify attacks against Saudi Arabia and promised additional funding, weapons and senior officers. Iran has publicly denied directing Houthi operations.

The conflict has intensified across Yemen. ACLED reported Sept. 9 that at least 276 people were killed between Sept. 3 and Sept. 7 as fighting spread across several areas, including al-Dali, al-Bayda, Marib, Shabwa, al-Jawf, al-Hudayda and Taizz.

Sherwan Hindreen Ali, ACLED’s Middle East research manager, said fighting along the Red Sea coast had become especially intense as both sides sought strategically important territory near Bab el-Mandeb.

Saudi Arabia has also increased its military involvement. Ali said Saudi forces carried out at least 15 strikes against the Houthis between Sept. 3 and Sept. 7, primarily around Taizz.

The Houthis responded Sept. 8 with dozens of drones and ballistic missiles aimed at Abha, Jizan, Najran and Khamis Mushait. Ali said the attacks injured 73 people.

The escalation is also testing a new defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.

The agreement, signed last month in Mecca, states that an armed attack against one member would be considered an attack against all three.

Pakistan, however, said Thursday that no military response under the agreement was currently being discussed.

“There is no such thing under discussion right now,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said, according to Reuters. “When time comes, [we] will act under the agreement.”

The Houthis have claimed that international navigation through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remains safe while maintaining that Saudi vessels remain subject to their previously announced blockade.

Al-Omeisy warned that pushing the Houthis out of territory they have captured could become increasingly difficult.

“The Houthis are really good at capturing a position; they entrench really well,” he said. “They send these massive reinforcements, and then it’s going to be extremely difficult to push them out of those areas.”

Meanwhile, oil markets reacted to the widening regional conflict Thursday. Brent crude rose more than 5% to $106.60 per barrel by late Thursday morning, while U.S. crude moved above $100 for the first time since May, according to Reuters.

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