From isolated rebels to regional force: How the Houthis took Bab al-Mandab
The advance gives the Iran-backed group control over a key shipping route and boosts its ability to target Saudi tankers.
- On Saturday, September 12, 2026, the Houthis seized the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, cementing the group's role as a significant regional power in days.
- Known as Ansar Allah, the movement emerged from the Zaidi minority in Yemen and operates within the Tehran-led "Axis of Resistance", which also includes Lebanon's Hezbollah.
- Saudi Arabia and the United States have long viewed the rebels as an Iranian "Tool", with their control over the strait disrupting commerce and threatening oil-rich Gulf neighbors.
- Mohammed Ahmed Miftah, the Houthi authorities' caretaker prime minister, held a press conference in Sanaa on Saturday following a major assault on the Bab al-Mandab launched September 3.
- The Houthis now hold all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and significant northern territory, continuing to pose a threat to Gulf neighbors and Israel despite previous truces.
14 Articles
14 Articles
According to the newspaper Idiot Aharonut, the rapid developments in Yemen are receiving remarkable attention within the Israeli security institution, given the potential threat to Israeli supply lines posed by the Houthis ' progress towards Bab al-Mandab.
ANALYSIS - After taking control of the maritime approaches to the strategic strait of Bab al-Mandab, the pro-Iranian rebels continue their offensive and put Riyadh in difficulty.
The fighting continues in Yemen, where the Iranian-backed Houthist rebels took control of the shores of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Friday. The fighting continues in Yemen, where the Iranian-backed Houthist rebels took control of the banks of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Friday. The fighting continues in Yemen, where the Houthist rebels took control of the banks of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Friday. The fighting continues in Yemen. The fighting …
The grip of the rebels allied to Iran on the sea arm between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, a necessary crossing point on the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe, raises fears of rising oil prices and sea transport prices.
The Huthis stage their occupation of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab as part of their conflict with Saudi Arabia. But they run the business of Iran
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