Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have reached Perim Island, an important strategic point from which to control a narrow passage to the Red Sea, sources in Yemen's internationally recognized government say. The Houthis themselves have not yet announced the capture of the island.
This island is divided by the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which serves as the southern gateway to the trade route connecting Asia and Europe. Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the Houthis had “reached” him.
Earlier, two agency sources in the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, said that government forces left the island of Perim, while the Houthis captured the city of Zubab, located on the Red Sea coast, opposite the island.
CNN also reports the capture of the island, also citing sources in the Yemeni government. A day earlier, as the country’s information minister said, Houthi fighters took control of the port city of Mokha.
"Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters arrived on Mayun island after government forces abandoned it yesterday," an official told AFP. Mayun is another name for the island of Perim. Houthi rebels have “taken control” of the island, the agency source said.
As of now, there has been no confirmation from the Houthis that they have reached Perim Island. Houthi armed forces spokesman Yahya Saria wrote on his Telegram channel that the group would later announce “a large-scale military operation with serious consequences.”
This news has raised serious concerns about the possible implications for global shipping, CNN comments. Serving as a gateway between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a geopolitically critical point similar to the Strait of Hormuz.
If the Houthis establish full control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, located on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, this could give their patron, Iran, a decisive advantage in the confrontation with the United States, writes Reuters. Supplies through the second most important transport corridor will decrease, and oil prices will skyrocket, the agency predicts.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has shifted its focus to the Red Sea route after the US war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows previously passed. State oil company Aramco has increased the volume of crude oil it pumps through a pipeline from Saudi Arabia's east coast to the Red Sea in the west.
Global oil prices were back above $100 a barrel this week following fresh exchanges of blows between the US and Iran. Both countries have reported attacks on oil tankers. Tehran also once again attacked a military base in Jordan where American troops are stationed.
On Friday, oil prices fell slightly after sources in the Financial Times reported that Middle Eastern foreign ministers were trying to agree on an interim agreement to regulate shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemeni government forces have said they intend to retake territory captured by the Houthis in a rapid offensive they launched this week along the Red Sea coast, Reuters reports.
It announced the transfer of weapons and aircraft to suppress any movement of “terrorist” Houthi forces in strategically important areas, including the road to the coastal city of Mokha, which the group captured the day before. A Yemeni military spokesman called on civilians not to use the road between the cities of Taiz and Moha and to stay away from Houthi equipment.
On Thursday, Reuters sources reported that the Houthis' rapid advance along the Red Sea coast this week was being carried out under the direct leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The agency's interlocutors, including those in Tehran, said that Iran is seeking to open a new front in its confrontation with the United States.
The publication's Iranian sources claim that Tehran has promised to provide the Houthis with additional funding and weapons, as well as send senior officers to assist in the fighting (Iran calls the Houthis its allies; it denies that it exercises military leadership over them).
After this, as Axios learned, the Saudi authorities turned to the United States with a request that the American military strike the Houthis.
According to the publication, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Donald Trump twice on Thursday urging him to carry out strikes as the group's fighters approached the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Axios sources say Trump refused because his administration is seeking to avoid direct involvement in the conflict with the Houthis.
At the same time, the United States, as the publication writes, is concerned about the rapid escalation of hostilities in Yemen and is increasing its support for Saudi Arabia, while trying to avoid direct military intervention. According to him, the commander of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent meetings.
The standoff between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis escalated in July after Riyadh struck a Houthi-controlled airport in Yemen's capital to prevent the landing of an Iranian plane carrying senior Houthi officials returning from the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
