At a narrow passage between continents, where the tides of commerce and conflict have long converged, Iran-backed Houthi forces have completed their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — seizing Yemen's port of Mokha and the last islands standing between them and full dominion over one of Earth's most consequential waterways. The capture, swift and sweeping, has sent diesel prices in the United States to a record $6.05 per gallon and displaced tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians in a matter of days. As Saudi Arabia presses Washington for military intervention and analysts warn of a war with no
Houthis seize Red Sea chokepoint as diesel hits record $6/gallon
At least 46,000 people displaced from fighting in Yemen since last week, with numbers rising hourly as entire villages emptied from Taiz and Mokha areas.
Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen.
Mark
So the Houthis now control the entire Bab el-Mandeb Strait. What does that actually mean for shipping?
Mimi
It means they can see and potentially strike any ship moving through one of the world's most important waterways. They've taken the port of Mokha and the islands in the strait itself. For Saudi oil tankers especially, it's a direct threat.
Luke
But hold on—the Houthis said Friday that navigation is safe for all commercial vessels except Saudi ships. Are they actually stopping other traffic, or is this more about leverage and messaging?
Mimi
That's the key question. They're claiming they'll let international commerce through. But they've been attacking ships for months already, so the threat is real whether or not they enforce a total blockade.
Mark
Why did Trump reject the Saudi request for strikes? That seems like a major decision.
Mimi
Trump offered intelligence and targeting support instead. He's keeping U.S. forces out of direct combat, at least for now. But the Saudis are clearly worried about losing ground.
Luke
Two sources told CBS that Trump declined. We don't have Trump's own explanation for why. And we should note—more than 200 U.S. military personnel are already there providing support. So it's not like America is staying out entirely.
Mark
What about the 46,000 displaced people? Is that number solid?
Mimi
The IOM said at least 46,000 as of Friday, up from 18,500 just three days earlier. They warned the number was rising by the hour. Entire villages have emptied.
Luke
"At least" is important. The IOM itself said the real number could be higher and was still climbing. This is a snapshot from one moment, not a final count. And we don't have independent verification of those village evacuations—we have reports of them.
Mark
And the diesel price—$6.05 a gallon. Is that definitely because of the Houthis?
Mimi
It's part of a larger picture. Oil prices spiked because of the war in general—Iran's blockade of Hormuz, the Houthi attacks on tankers, the pipeline strike in Saudi Arabia. All of it together.
Luke
Right. The source says diesel is up 60 percent from a year ago, but we can't draw a straight line from Houthi actions to that exact number. It's the cumulative effect of six months of regional conflict. The causation is real, but it's complex.
Der Puls
- Houthi forces seized Mokha port and Perim Island in rapid succession, completing a stranglehold over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and cutting off the last viable Red Sea escape route for Saudi oil tankers.
- U.S. diesel prices surged to a record $6.05 per gallon — up 60% in a year — threatening to drive up costs for trucking, farming, construction, and nearly every consumer good that moves across American roads.
- At least 46,000 Yemenis have been displaced since fighting escalated last week, with entire villages emptying overnight and a critical supply road between Mokha and Taiz severed.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice urged President Trump to authorize direct military strikes; Trump declined combat involvement but offered intelligence support, leaving Riyadh to absorb Houthi momentum largely alone.
- A drone strike on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline — the kingdom's last major bypass around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz — forced an emergency shutdown, compounding fears of a wider energy catastrophe.
- War analysts see no exit: with Iran escalating rather than retreating, oil above $105 a barrel, and no clear military victor in sight, the conflict that was expected to last weeks is now entering its sixth month with no resolution on the horizon.
At a narrow passage between continents, where the tides of commerce and conflict have long converged, Iran-backed Houthi forces have completed their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — seizing Yemen's port of Mokha and the last islands standing between them and full dominion over one of Earth's most consequential waterways. The capture, swift and sweeping, has sent diesel prices in the United States to a record $6.05 per gallon and displaced tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians in a matter of days. As Saudi Arabia presses Washington for military intervention and analysts warn of a war with no visible end, the world is reminded once again how fragile the arteries of global civilization truly are.
In a matter of days, the Houthis transformed the map of the Red Sea. The Iran-backed rebels launched a sweeping offensive beginning September 3, capturing the port city of Mokha and then Perim Island — the last pieces of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait not yet under their control. The strait, a narrow corridor linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is one of the world's most critical shipping passages. Its fall into Houthi hands gives the group the power to threaten Saudi oil tankers and international commerce at will.
The economic shockwaves arrived almost immediately. American diesel prices reached a record $6.05 per gallon on Friday — more than 60 percent higher than a year ago — driven by months of disruption to global oil supplies. Diesel powers the trucks, trains, and farm equipment that keep American life running, and experts warned that higher prices for goods and services are only beginning to ripple outward.
The scale of the Houthi advance stunned regional powers. Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed his forces had swept through six districts spanning more than 2,000 square miles, striking dozens of military brigades and leaving Saudi-backed government troops in disarray. A Yemeni military official told AFP that everything on the western coast had fallen. Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes, including strikes on Mokha's airport, but failed to slow the advance.
Behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice asked President Trump to authorize direct U.S. military strikes against the Houthis. Trump declined, offering instead intelligence and targeting support. More than 200 American military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia in a non-combat role, and the head of U.S. Central Command flew to Riyadh for coordination talks — but no combat commitment followed.
The human toll has been devastating. The International Organization for Migration counted at least 46,000 displaced people since fighting escalated — more than double the figure from just three days prior — with the number rising by the hour. Villages west of Taiz emptied overnight. IOM chief Amy Pope warned that reaching survivors with aid was growing harder as the fighting spread.
The strategic stakes extend well beyond Yemen's borders. With Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz already rerouting global oil flows through the Red Sea, the Houthi seizure of Bab el-Mandeb now threatens that alternative corridor as well. A drone strike — widely attributed to the Houthis — hit Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline on Thursday, forcing a precautionary shutdown of a system that carries up to 7 million barrels of oil per day.
Analysts see little hope for a swift resolution. Six months into a war expected to last weeks, Iran shows no sign of backing down, oil has climbed back above $105 a barrel, and President Trump has acknowledged that elevated gas prices may persist through the midterm elections. Whether the current stalemate holds — or gives way to something wider — remains the defining question of a conflict that is reshaping the world's energy geography one chokepoint at a time.
The Houthis have seized control of the Red Sea's most critical chokepoint. In a swift military campaign that began last week, the Iran-backed rebels captured the port city of Mokha on Thursday and, by Friday, had taken Perim Island—also known as Mayun—along with the last two islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that remained outside their control. The moves complete their dominance over one of the world's most vital shipping corridors, the narrow waterway that separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and serves as a gateway between Europe and Asia. For Saudi Arabia and global energy markets, the implications are immediate and severe.
Diesel prices in the United States hit a record $6.05 per gallon on Friday, up more than 60 percent from a year earlier, according to AAA data. The surge reflects months of disruption to global oil supplies as the Houthis have targeted tankers and infrastructure across the region. Diesel, used heavily in trucking, rail, construction, and farming, is the lifeblood of American logistics. As businesses absorb these costs, consumers will feel the impact through higher prices for goods and services. Experts warned that the ripple effects are only beginning.
The Houthi offensive, which began September 3 under the name "Allah Is Stronger in Might and Stronger in Inflicting Punishment," has been devastating in scope. The group's military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, claimed that Houthi forces expelled Saudi-backed government troops from six districts covering more than 2,000 square miles across the governorates of Taiz and Hodeidah. He said the operation struck seven military divisions comprising 38 brigades, with hundreds of Saudi personnel killed, captured, or wounded. The speed of the advance caught regional powers off guard. A Yemeni military official told the AFP news agency that "everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen."
Saudi Arabia responded with dozens of airstrikes, including strikes on the Mokha airport on Friday. But the kingdom's military response has not slowed the Houthi momentum. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally pressed President Trump twice on Thursday to authorize direct U.S. military strikes against the rebels, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Trump declined to commit American forces to combat operations but offered intelligence and targeting support. More than 200 U.S. military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia providing what officials called "non-kinetic support." Admiral Bradley Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, was in the kingdom on Friday for coordination talks.
The human cost of the fighting has been staggering. The International Organization for Migration said at least 46,000 people have been displaced since the fighting escalated last week—more than double the 18,500 it had counted just three days earlier. The agency warned that the number was "alarmingly rising by the hour." Entire villages west of Taiz have emptied, with reports of large numbers of people fleeing Mokha overnight with their belongings. The Mokha-Taiz road, a critical supply route, has been cut. IOM chief Amy Pope called for safe humanitarian access, warning that "as fighting spreads, reaching people with lifesaving assistance is becoming harder."
The strategic implications extend far beyond Yemen. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has become a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the war began in late February. Before the conflict, roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day moved through Hormuz; now Saudi Arabia and other producers depend on routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The 750-mile East-West pipeline, built in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War to bypass Hormuz, transports 5 to 7 million barrels daily from the Abqaiq oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. On Thursday, that pipeline came under drone attack in the Riyadh and Medina regions, injuring several people and forcing Saudi authorities to shut it down as a precaution. Multiple reports attributed the strike to the Houthis, though Saudi officials did not formally assign blame.
Analysts say the war, now six months old and originally expected to last weeks, shows no sign of ending. Mona Yacoubian, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: "Iran shows no sign of backing down, and instead has demonstrated a willingness to not only fight back, but escalate wherever it can. The war is likely to be protracted with no clear victor." The mounting economic pressure on Iran has not sparked an internal uprising, and if Iranian leaders feel cornered, they may choose military escalation over surrender. Their Houthi allies have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, helping push oil prices back above $105 a barrel. President Trump has acknowledged that gas prices are likely to remain elevated through the midterm congressional elections. The question now is whether the current stalemate can hold, or whether the conflict will widen further.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen.— Yemeni military official to AFP
Iran shows no sign of backing down, and instead has demonstrated a willingness to not only fight back, but escalate wherever it can. The war is likely to be protracted with no clear victor.— Mona Yacoubian, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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