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Houthi fighters march in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10 local time as part of efforts to mobilize additional forces. Fighting has spread to several cities as military operations intensify across Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces. / EPA-Yonhap

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen pushed south toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sept. 10 local time after seizing a strategic Red Sea port city and advancing to nearby islands. The offensive marks the Houthis’ largest territorial expansion since the 2022 truce and is putting pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil export route through the Red Sea, which has been used to bypass Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rose to $105 a barrel, or about 141,341 won.

Houthis seize Yemen Red Sea port, strategic islands, advance within 50 km of Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The Houthis pushed back Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha, Reuters reported, citing four Yemeni government military sources. Two government sources later said the Houthis had reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. Government forces and their allies subsequently moved troops south toward areas directly bordering the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Associated Press reported that Mocha lies about 80 kilometers from the strait, while Ahmed Nagi, a Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the Financial Times that the Houthi front had advanced to within 50 kilometers of the waterway.

The Houthis also seized the Al-Shaqira area, a key supply route connecting Taiz with the western coast, the AP reported. Citing three doctors, the AP said they had fled a hospital in Houthi-held Mocha, while residents were also evacuating south to Aden.

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Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces fire a tank during clashes with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in an area believed to be near Al-Hazm, Yemen, on Sept. 9 local time. The image is a video grab released by the Yemeni Armed Forces Media Center. / Reuters-Yonhap

Houthi advance pressures Saudi oil route bypassing Hormuz as Red Sea shipments surge eightfold

The Houthi push south is directly threatening Saudi Arabia’s oil export route through the Red Sea, which Riyadh has increasingly used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia is sending crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and shipping several million barrels a day from there.

According to AFP, Saudi crude exports through Bab el-Mandeb increased eightfold between March and mid-July. The AP reported that goods worth about $1 trillion, or roughly 1,346.1 trillion won, normally pass through the Red Sea shipping route each year. The Financial Times said Brent crude rose to $105 a barrel after the Houthis seized the port.

Houthi spokesperson and chief negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam said on X, formerly Twitter, that navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remain safe and that military operations are limited to specific targets.

The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) also said Red Sea navigation remains safe for other shipping companies, except Saudi vessels already subject to an existing navigation ban.

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The cargo ship Tihama is seen near Murad, Yemen, on Aug. 10 local time. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said the vessel was attacked in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing four crew members. / Courtesy of Yemen’s Transport Ministry, Reuters-Yonhap

Rubio points to Iran behind Houthi offensive as attacks on Saudi energy facilities expand

Iran’s possible involvement has emerged as a key issue as the Houthi offensive intensifies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis are “in many ways a proxy for Iran” and that there was clearly an Iranian hand behind at least some of the latest moves, AFP reported.

Reuters, citing two Iranian sources, reported that the Iranian government urged the Houthis last week to attack Saudi Arabia and promised additional funding and weapons. Several commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also said to have helped coordinate the attacks from Yemen. However, a senior Iranian official told Pakistan, after Islamabad relayed a Saudi warning, that “Iran does not control the Houthis,” according to Reuters.

The military confrontation has also widened. The Saudi-led coalition said Houthi attacks on civilian and economic facilities in southern Saudi Arabia injured 73 civilians. The Financial Times reported that the Houthis launched additional attacks on Khamis Mushait, home to a Saudi air base, as well as Abha and Jizan, where major energy infrastructure is located, including a refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.

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Boats are anchored off the coast of Yemen along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on April 2 local time. / Reuters-Yonhap

Yemeni government forces regroup as civil war flares, Pakistan warns joint defense pact could be triggered

The latest fighting is raising the risk of a full-scale resumption of Yemen’s civil war, which had largely subsided following the 2022 truce. The AP reported that clashes resumed after Saudi Arabia carried out an airstrike on Sanaa International Airport in July. The Houthis said the strike was intended to prevent an aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation returning from Iran from landing. The group subsequently announced a blockade of Saudi ports and attacked Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

Reuters reported that Tareq Saleh, vice chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, ordered troops on the western front to establish alternative command posts in safer areas as government forces came under pressure from the Houthi offensive.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera, citing the World Health Organization, reported that more than 1,000 people have been killed or injured in the recent fighting and tens of thousands have been displaced.

The prospect of broader regional involvement is also growing. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that continued attacks on Saudi Arabia or an expansion of the Yemen war onto Saudi territory would cause a joint defense agreement signed last month by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in Mecca to “come into effect.”

                                                                                                                Ha Man-ju