Saudi Strikes as Houthis Take Island   09/11 06:08

   

   CAIRO (AP) -- Yemen 's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic 
island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, two 
officials said Friday in a swift advance that further threatens Saudi oil 
exports through one of the world's key commercial lanes.

   Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes against the airport in the key port 
city of Mokha that the Houthis seized on Thursday, a Houthi broadcaster said. 
There was no immediate report of damage or deaths.

   The capture of Mayun, a tiny, barren volcanic island in the strait, was 
confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognized 
government and by a Houthi official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity 
because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

   The island, also known as Perim, is about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) off 
Yemen's west coast.

   The strait is a key alternative to the Iran-choked Strait of Hormuz. But 
there is "no need for international concern," Hazam al-Assad, a member of the 
rebels' political bureau, told The Associated Press, saying they are responding 
to Saudi aggression, and "our forces have a bank of big important targets" in 
case Riyadh keeps up the strikes.

   Earlier Friday, Iran's government called for an end to Saudi Arabia's 
blockade of Yemen, throwing its support behind its ally, the Houthis. In its 
first statement since the rebels entered the port, Iran's Foreign Ministry also 
called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

   There was no immediate Saudi comment on Friday.

   The rebels' capture of Mokha, overlooking tanker routes out of the Red Sea, 
could boost Iran's strategy of driving up world oil and gas prices to pressure 
the United States, experts say. It also raises concerns of a new front opening 
after more than six months of war in the region -- one in which Saudi Arabia is 
forced to respond.

   Experts say the developments in Yemen could give Tehran more leverage in any 
negotiations with the U.S. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for Iran's powerful 
Revolutionary Guard called for any negotiated settlement with the U.S. to 
include Yemen, the first explicit reference to that front.

   Events threaten a key Strait of Hormuz alternative

   The Houthis' entry into Mokha on Thursday was their biggest territorial gain 
in years against their Saudi-backed Yemeni opponents. It brought them within 50 
miles (80 kilometers) of the Bab el-Mandeb, a strait that has become an 
important alternative for global shipping as Iran targets vessels in the Strait 
of Hormuz.

   A senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognized 
government told the AP they were stunned that the Saudi air force didn't strike 
the Houthis earlier, as they were advancing on Mokha. He assessed that Saudi 
Arabia didn't get a green light from the U.S. to embark on a large-scale air 
campaign.

   The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed 
to speak to the media, also blamed "lack of coordination" between Yemen's army 
and allied forces, saying it gave the Houthis "a priceless opportunity."

   The Houthis had already attacked Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb and Red 
Sea since declaring a blockade there in July, as well as oil infrastructure 
inside Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said it was in response to the kingdom's 
blockade of Houthi-held parts of Yemen, in place for years.

   New disruption to the waterway could mean trouble for all shipping and for 
the price of crude oil, which has now soared again. Saudi Arabia has 
increasingly relied on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb to export its crude since 
Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. About 12% of the 
world's goods are typically shipped through the strait.

   Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb had fallen by about 60% since the Houthis 
began attacking some ships there in late 2023 while expressing solidarity with 
Palestinians in Gaza. Shipping increased this year as Saudi Arabia sought 
alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have 
"curtailed" that activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.

   Saudi Arabia, which earlier this week said it had always offered 
"opportunities for negotiation," also has said it has the right to defend 
itself in response to the Houthis' blockade. The foreign ministers of Iran and 
Saudi Arabia spoke Thursday about diplomatic efforts to "restore stability" to 
the region, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media.

   The fighting risks a return to civil war

   In a statement released Friday, the National Defense Council of Yemen's 
Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government on Thursday strongly 
condemned the Houthis' renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia.

   The council also acknowledged that Yemen's government is on the front line 
of freedom of navigation, and called for international support as the Houthis 
swept along the Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb.

   The escalating fighting threatens to end a fragile truce that had largely 
halted Yemen's civil war since 2022.

   At stake are the 40 million people in the Arab world's poorest country who 
fear a return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others to 
the brink of famine.

   The surge in fighting in the past week has sent over 46,000 people fleeing, 
and "overnight, large numbers of people were reportedly seen leaving Mokha with 
their belongings," the U.N. migration agency said Friday.

   The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, when the 
rebels swept from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and 
central Yemen, and the capital of Sanaa. Saudi Arabia entered the war the 
following year on behalf of the government.