Yemen’s Houthis have seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed pro-government forces, leaving them less than 50 miles from a crucial waterway for global trade.
The capture is a major setback for Saudi Arabia that will likely put the US, the Saudis and their allies in a much tighter situation than they already are, and one point closer to a strategic choke point for cargo ships in the area.
The ground offensive puts the Iranian-backed Houths in better position to attack ships and further destabilize energy markets.
After the Houthis seized the city on Thursday, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose to more than $105 a barrel, its highest level in months.
The Houthis are expected to try to push farther south to try and take territory next to the strait and potentially an island in the waterway. The area is “arguably Yemen’s most strategically valuable real estate,” Yemen expert Adam Baron said. If the Houthis are able to take that territory, it could leave both of the Arabian Peninsula’s major maritime choke points — Bab al-Mandab and the Strait of Hormuz — under at least the partial control of Iran and its allies, he added.