Yemeni officials and Houthi representatives stated that the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group captured the strategic port city of Mokha on Thursday. Analysts noted that this takeover provides Tehran with an additional lever of influence in its ongoing conflict with the United States by enabling the Houthis to increase threats or attacks against Red Sea shipping routes. Mokha lies approximately 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital shipping lane connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden that typically carries about 12% of global trade. The strategic importance of the Bab el-Mandeb has risen as Iranian actions have disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Iran conflict. Although the Houthis initially remained peripheral to the war, they escalated attacks over the summer against Yemen’s internationally recognized government and declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Baash, a commander within the government-allied National Resistance Forces, and Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi political bureau, both confirmed the seizure of Mokha to The Associated Press. Representing the group’s largest territorial advance since a 2002 truce concluded a decade-long civil war, the fall of Mokha threatens renewed full-scale conflict that could destabilize energy supplies worldwide. Local residents reported seeing Houthi vehicles on the streets and shuttered markets, while three doctors confirmed they fled a Mokha hospital following its takeover. Other residents sought safety by fleeing south toward Aden. According to military personnel, the capture follows broader Houthi advances in Taiz province, including the al-Shaqira area. Experts warn that the terrain could allow the Houthis to endanger Red Sea shipping through water mines, further amplifying Tehran’s leverage. Shipping through the Bab al Mandeb has already dropped by roughly 60% since late 2023 due to Houthi attacks. Addressing an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg cautioned that the escalation signifies the end of over four years of relative calm, warning that the consequences could extend far beyond Yemen’s borders. Ambassadors from Yemen and Saudi Arabia, alongside U.S. representatives, called for heightened sanctions, weapons restrictions, and robust international measures to deter Houthi aggression and protect regional security.
Source: npr.org
