Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia, the group claimed Monday, and also seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, bolstering the rebels' ability to control a key maritime shipping route.
The group has made sweeping gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast after conducting a large-scale military operation aimed at controlling the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthi Red Sea coast offensive has placed another vital shipping route at risk as the Hormuz blockade disrupts trade and energy supplies. Qatar said closing the Red Sea gateway would worsen the crisis and has called for a diplomatic solution.
Euronews15 Sept
Container carriers Red Sea return is lowering some rates but increasing exposure to potential new disruptions.
FreightWaves•Stuart Chirls15 Sept
The meeting comes after the Iran-backed group seized strategic islands on the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
In this special episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group expert Ahmed Nagi about the rapid Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, what they mean for Saudi Arabia and the wider region, and the risk of a broader shipping crisis.
The militant group in Yemen captured the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, near the chokepoint of the Bab al-Mandab strait Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized two strategic islands in the Red Sea, reinforcing the Iran-backed group’s ability to control a key shipping route, as concerns mount that the world is facing a new oil supply crisis. The seizure of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the militant group’s swift advance across Yemen’s Red Sea coast, after the capture of the port of Mokha and Perim island in the Bab al-Mandab strait. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Jonathan Yerushalmy15 Sept
Iran-backed group seized areas on Red Sea coastline.
Al Jazeera14 Sept
Here we go again. The Houthis have seized the Yemeni Red Sea coast, the port of Mokha and Perim Island, which divides the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait into two channels. The group now occupies positions from which it can monitor or threaten one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Normally, that would be alarming enough. But the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula is already severely disrupted. Saudi Arabia consequently relied more heavily on its East–West pipeline to move crude from the Gulf to Red…
US Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration is “very much on top of” the Houthi advance in Yemen.
Al Jazeera14 Sept
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have tightened their grip on a key shipping route, capturing two strategic Red Sea islands. The closure of another global transport route is the latest ripple effect of the US war with Iran.
Deutsche Welle14 Sept
After launching a significant campaign against forces of the internationally recognized government of Yemen on August 6, the Houthis seized the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and a strategic island in the Bab al Mandeb Strait by September 11. A counteroperation by the Yemeni Armed Forces is contesting key territory along the strait.
Gulf states called off Monday's planned meeting with Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz the same day Yemen's Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, calling it retaliation for more than 300 Saudi airstrikes on Yemen in five days. A Friday drone attack Riyadh blamed on Iran-backed fighters in Iraq knocked out Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the kingdom's only route around the blockaded strait. The 7-million-barrel-a-day line feeds the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with traders telling…
The Hanish archipelago fell after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew, adding to Houthi control of Mokha and Perim Island. More than 80,000 people have been displaced in two weeks of fighting, as the internationally recognised government vows to regroup.
Euronews14 Sept
The conflict in Yemen intensified on Sunday, as government forces launched attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea and Houthis fired into neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s government. The Yemeni government vowed to send more forces to the Red Sea coast and one official conceded a “painful” defeat last week when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Houthi control may force Gulf states into closer ties with Iran, impacting regional stability and shifting economic focus from U.S. policies.
CryptoBriefing•Estefano Gomez14 Sept
Saudis yet to provide details about damage from drone attack to key east-west pipeline to Red Sea that could affect 4% of global oil supply Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for export if it doesn’t restart a drone-damaged major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to the loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said. Satellite photos released on Sunday night appeared to show a pumping station on the key 1,200km (745-mile) Saudi east-west pipeline charred and badly damaged, after drone attacks on Friday. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Mark Saunokonoko and agencies14 Sept
Houthi rebels seized Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but a former Pentagon official warns they've entered a vulnerable U.S. Navy kill box.
Houthi control of Bab al-Mandeb chokes Suez Canal revenues, triggers refugee flows, and exposes regional security gaps.
Al Jazeera13 Sept
A look back at some of the week's key news stories and the most striking images, from commemorations marking 25 years since the 9/11 attacks to the breakthrough win for Germany's far-right AfD party and the lightening offensive that has left Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in control of the country's Red Sea coast.