Houthis Seize Yemen’s Mokha Port, Threaten Red Sea Shipping As Saudi Arabia Strikes Airport

Saudi airstrikes hit the Mokha airport in Yemen on Friday, a Houthi broadcaster reported, a day after the Iran-backed rebels seized the strategic Red Sea port city and moved closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising fresh concerns over global shipping and the risk of a wider regional escalation.

The strikes came as Iran openly backed its Houthi ally. Tehran called for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Houthi-held areas of Yemen and urged the two sides to return to negotiations.

The Houthis’ capture of Mokha represents their biggest territorial gain in years against Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. The city is about 80 kilometres from Bab el-Mandeb, a vital maritime chokepoint through which roughly 12 per cent of global goods normally pass.

The waterway has become increasingly important after shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz was disrupted amid the wider regional conflict. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on Red Sea routes to move its crude as Iran targets vessels around Hormuz.

Any sustained disruption around Bab el-Mandeb could therefore create another major pressure point for international trade and energy markets. Shipping through the waterway had already fallen sharply after Houthi attacks on commercial vessels began in late 2023. Activity recovered this year as Saudi Arabia looked for alternatives to Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have now curtailed that movement.

The Houthis have said their actions against Saudi Arabia are retaliation for the kingdom’s long-running blockade of Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has maintained that it has the right to defend itself against the blockade and attacks.

The latest escalation also carries a serious domestic cost for Yemen. The conflict between the Houthis and the internationally recognised government has continued since 2014, with Saudi Arabia entering the war the following year in support of the government. A fragile truce since 2022 had largely halted nationwide fighting.

A return to full-scale war could devastate a country of about 40 million people that has already suffered enormous humanitarian losses. It could also open another front in the wider regional conflict, while giving Iran additional leverage in any future negotiations with the United States.

With Mokha now under Houthi control and Saudi Arabia responding militarily, the Red Sea has emerged as an increasingly dangerous pressure point for both regional security and global trade.