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Houthi rebel forces have taken complete control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline following a rapid and decisive military advance against the internationally recognized government. The sweeping offensive provides the Iran-backed movement with operational command over the vital Bab al-Mandeb shipping route, a critical global choke point connecting the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and the wider international maritime trade network.
According to accounts from witnesses and official Yemeni government sources, the rebel fighters overran the last remaining state-controlled towns along the western littoral early on Friday. The defensive lines of the internationally recognized administration buckled rapidly under the pressure, clearing the way for Houthi units to push directly onto key maritime islands situated within the Bab al-Mandeb Strait itself.
The offensive gained rapid momentum starting at dawn on Thursday when rebel forces marched into the strategic coastal town of al-Makha, historically known as Mocha. After successfully consolidating their positions within the port settlement, Houthi fighters quickly mobilized maritime units to expand their operational reach outward to secure neighboring offshore islands scattered along the shoreline.
By Friday morning, the rebel advance continued southward along the coast, culminating in the capture of the town of Dhubab, which sits directly on the edge of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Yemeni government sources confirmed to international news agencies that the rapid territorial retreat left government forces unable to hold their defensive positions along the strategic coastal corridor.
In one of the most strategically significant moves of the campaign, Houthi fighters traveled by boat to occupy Mayyun Island, also widely known as Perim Island. Situated at the very heart of the narrow Bab al-Mandeb waterway, the island was seized without resistance after government troops completed a full withdrawal, effectively cementing the rebels' physical footprint in the center of the passage.
Further reinforcing their tactical dominance, Houthi forces seized the strategic Al-Omari military camp, which sits on high ground overlooking the strait. Citing sources on the ground, the Sanaa-based Yemen Press Agency confirmed that the capture of the elevated installation grants the rebel forces direct observation and defensive control over the primary commercial shipping corridor.
Despite on-the-ground reporting and statements from regional security sources confirming that the Houthis have completed their takeover of the entire Bab al-Mandeb area, the Houthi-led authorities in Sanaa have not yet released an official government proclamation formally declaring full control over the vital international maritime corridor.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait serves as the primary southern gateway to the Red Sea, offering critical access toward the Suez Canal and key Saudi Arabian oil terminals. The passage provides a vital conduit for crude oil shipments heading toward Europe, allowing commercial tankers to bypass the Persian Gulf entirely during periods of regional instability.
Prior to the recent advance, commercial and energy shipping through the Red Sea had already dropped substantially due to earlier campaigns by Houthi forces targeting maritime traffic. However, the route had increasingly been relied upon as a crucial contingency bypass for commercial vessels attempting to circumvent the heavily disrupted Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, which historically accommodated approximately one-fifth of all global energy shipments, has seen its traffic severely curtailed since the eruption of open military conflict between the United States and Iran earlier this year. Iran has used its chokehold over Hormuz to apply economic pressure on the United States by restricting regional energy supplies and driving up global market prices.
News analyses from the capital, Sanaa, indicate that the complete seizure of the Red Sea coast puts the Houthis in an unprecedented position of strength. With direct command over Bab al-Mandeb and the naval traffic traversing the southern entrance of the Red Sea, the group holds immense geopolitical leverage over international trade flows.
The situation is compounded by a total lack of readiness among Yemeni state forces, with regional correspondents noting that there are virtually no indications that the internationally recognized government is preparing a counteroffensive to dislodge the rebel group or retake its lost coastal strongholds in the immediate future.
The news of the Houthi advance sent immediate shockwaves through international commodity markets on Friday. Global crude oil benchmarks rallied sharply, putting oil prices on track to close above the $100-per-barrel threshold for the first time since mid-May as traders factored in the heightened risk to alternative maritime transit lanes.
The market fallout quickly registered at fuel pumps in the United States, where the average retail price of diesel climbed past $6 per gallon. The surge reflects mounting international alarm over supply chain disruptions and fuel delivery bottlenecks caused by compounding conflicts across key Middle Eastern waterways.
Adding to the grim economic outlook, the International Energy Agency released a revised forecast on Friday projecting that global oil supply and demand will decline more severely this year than previously anticipated. The agency warned that the broader war between the United States and Iran will likely prevent normal Middle Eastern energy flows from resuming until 2027.
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