Territorial gains on Yemen’s Red Sea coast could give the Iran-aligned movement greater influence over global shipping.
MOCHA, YEMEN
Houthi forces have launched their most significant territorial offensive in years, capturing the strategic port city of Mocha and advancing along Yemen’s western coast. Government and military sources also reported Houthi movements toward the Hanish Islands, bringing the group closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The offensive forced Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops to withdraw south of Mocha and regroup. The Houthis also claim to have captured Hays and the Khalid ibn al-Walid military base, although the full extent of their territorial gains remains difficult to verify independently. Fighting has intensified after several years of reduced hostilities following the 2022 United Nations-mediated truce.
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and forms part of the maritime corridor linking Asia with Europe through the Suez Canal. Control of nearby coastline, islands and missile positions would not automatically give the Houthis legal or uncontested control of the strait, but it could expand their ability to monitor, threaten or attack passing vessels.
The group says international navigation remains safe and that its operations target only designated adversaries, including Saudi shipping. Previous attacks on commercial vessels, however, have already forced shipping companies to divert around southern Africa, increasing transport times, insurance premiums and energy costs.
The advance carries broader geopolitical consequences as conflict involving Iran and the United States disrupts the Strait of Hormuz on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. If Iran-aligned forces gain greater capacity near both maritime chokepoints, Tehran could acquire additional leverage over trade and energy flows. Yemen’s population would meanwhile face renewed displacement, hunger and infrastructure destruction as the civil war returns to a more intensive phase.
Modern wars attack not only territory, but the systems that keep societies functioning.