Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized control of several more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea. This has further strengthened their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route.
The takeover of the Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish islands came just as forces were regrouping along Yemen’s western coast in an attempt at renewed counter-resistance.
The intensity of the conflict — particularly Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea — is putting additional pressure on global oil supply and prices. This situation could bring Iran extra leverage in its ongoing dispute with the United States.
Two government officials and a Houthi official, speaking to the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity, said hundreds of troops from the government-aligned coalition withdrew from the islands. Houthi rebels then deployed their own fighters to the Hanish Islands, located 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Bab al-Mandeb.