Houthi advances in Yemen threaten Red Sea shipping security

Iran-backed Houthi forces seized the strategic Yemeni port city of Mocha on Thursday and pushed toward positions overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, opening a potentially dangerous new front for global trade as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained. Hisham Al-Omeisy, a senior Yemen advisor at the European Institute of Peace, told Fox News that having Iran control Hormuz on one side of the Arabian Peninsula and the Houthis controlling Bab el-Mandeb on the other will likely drive oil and goods prices up exponentially. Yemeni government sources reported that the Houthis captured Mocha and reached the Hanish Islands, forcing Saudi-backed government forces to withdraw southward. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, serves as a critical artery connecting the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through the strait averaged 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026. Reuters separately reported that Iranian arms and direct guidance from the IRGC helped facilitate the Houthi advance, a claim Tehran has publicly denied. Following the escalation, Brent crude prices surged more than 5% to $106.60 per barrel.