Houthis seize Mocha, advance on Perim Island in Red Sea offensive

Houthi fighters captured the historic Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday after routing National Resistance Forces led by Tarek Saleh, nephew of Yemen's former president. The advance positions the Iran-aligned group to threaten the Bab al-Mandab strait and Perim Island, a 12-mile-wide choke point between Africa and Arabia.

Saudi Arabia diverted oil exports through the Red Sea after the US-Iran war effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, raising the strait's global energy significance. Perim Island, once a British coaling station, now sits at the center of this rerouted trade.

“The Houthis have pulled off a military victory that puts them one step closer to be in full control of the Bab el-Mandeb”

Corey Ranslem, CEO of maritime security firm Dryad Global, said the Houthis have achieved a military victory putting them one step closer to full control of Bab al-Mandab, adding it may be easier for them to exert control there than for Iran at Hormuz.

Houthi forces also deployed troops to the Hanish Islands in the central Red Sea, opposite Eritrea, while continuing their push south toward Perim. The rapid advance has raised questions about coordination among Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, which did not employ significant air power against the offensive.

Mocha had been held by the UAE-backed National Resistance Forces, though Tarek Saleh's faction had recently shifted allegiance toward Saudi Arabia. The Houthis killed Saleh's uncle, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in 2017 after he broke their alliance.