Houthis seize key Red Sea city with Iranian support, threatening global shipping chokepoint

Yemen’s Houthi forces captured the strategic port city of Mokha on September 10, seizing control from Saudi-backed government troops after a grinding ground offensive fueled by Iranian arms and advisory support. The fall of Mokha, a historic Red Sea trading hub in Yemen’s Taiz province, represents one of the most consequential territorial shifts in the country’s war since fighting erupted in 2014. The city sits roughly 75 km north of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Somewhere between 10% and 12% of global trade passes through that chokepoint. The Houthis now control nearly the entire Yemeni side of the coastline overlooking it. What happened in Mokha The offensive produced hundreds of casualties and displaced thousands of civilians in a region already battered by over a decade of conflict. Iran’s role in the operation went beyond moral support. Sources indicate Tehran provided both the weapons and the tactical advice that shaped the Houthi campaign. Why the Bab al-Mandeb matters The Houthis demonstrated throughout 2024 and into 2025 that they were willing to use their geographic position to harass commercial shipping, launchi...