Along one of the world's most consequential maritime corridors, a swift and coordinated military operation has shifted the balance of power in Yemen's long-fractured landscape. In under forty-eight hours, Houthi forces — guided by Iranian military advisers — seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, a move that speaks less to battlefield improvisation than to a deepening strategic partnership between Tehran and its proxy forces. The seizure is a reminder that in modern proxy warfare, influence is often projected not through direct confrontation but through the quiet architecture of operatio