According to a report by the BBC, Yemen’s Houthis have seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed pro-government forces.

Military sources and witnesses cited by the BBC said the capture places the Iran-backed group just 75 km from the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to a trade route linking Asia and Europe.

While the Port of Mokha is a small harbour rather than a modern container terminal, its close proximity to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait gives it immense strategic value for monitoring and influencing the critical Red Sea shipping lanes during the current conflict.

Furthermore, Lloyd’s List reported that security consultancy Marisks said Houthi forces had entered Mokha and were conducting operations involving Mayun (Perim), Jabal Zuqar, Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish islands.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that Houthi fighters had landed on Mayun Island and reached the Hanish island group.

Because these islands sit immediately adjacent to major international shipping lanes, Houthi control over them drastically narrows the safe transit window for merchant vessels and expands the group's leverage over the primary global choke point for oil and commodity trade.

Marisks stated that any Houthi presence on the islands, particularly Perim, would represent a major deterioration in the maritime security environment.

The company said: “Their strategic positioning could provide the Houthis with an enhanced ability to monitor, threaten and potentially interdict commercial vessels transiting the Bab el Mandeb and southern Red Sea.”

Meanwhile, the Houthis said they posed no threat to international shipping. However, the group reiterated its threat to target vessels from Saudi Arabia and has sought to enforce a self-declared maritime embargo against Saudi cargoes announced in July.