Along the narrow throat of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where ancient trade winds once guided merchant vessels between continents, Iran-backed Houthi forces have seized the port of Mokha, Perim Island, and the coastal town of Dhubab — placing some of the world's most consequential shipping lanes under the control of a militia at war with Yemen's internationally recognized government. The captures mark the most significant Houthi territorial advance since a UN ceasefire in 2022, arriving precisely as the Red Sea has grown indispensable to global commerce amid disruptions elsewhere. What unfolds he
Houthis seize strategic Red Sea ports, threatening global shipping routes
Yemen's civil war has killed over 150,000 people and brought others to the brink of famine.