Houthis Seize Yemen's Mocha Port, Threaten Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Iran-backed Houthi forces have seized Yemen's Mocha port and advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital 18-mile-wide passage linking the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, with Reuters reporting Iranian Revolutionary Guard weapons and guidance behind the offensive. The advance threatens a second global shipping chokepoint even as the Strait of Hormuz remains severely constrained, pushing Brent crude past $106 and testing a new Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey mutual defence pact. Escalating Iranian-backed pressure on two of the world's key oil arteries simultaneously marks a documented widening of regional conflict involving Iran's allies, heightening the risk of a broader Middle East confrontation.