DOHA/DUBAI/ISLAMABAD (MNN); Yemen’s Houthi movement has taken control of Perim Island, also known as Mayyun Island, in the Red Sea, strengthening its position around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to a local government official and eyewitnesses.
The island, located at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, divides the vital waterway into two shipping lanes. A Yemeni government official told AFP that boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached the island after government forces withdrew a day earlier.
An eyewitness said armed men were deployed along the Bab al-Mandab coastline and were moving around the area in military vehicles.
The development represents a major advance for the Houthis in their efforts to establish control over the approaches to one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said navigation through the Bab al-Mandab remained safe for commercial shipping, but announced that Saudi vessels would remain banned.
“Maritime navigation is safe for all companies except Saudi ships, which have already been banned,” Saree said.
Strikes reported at Mocha
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes targeting the airport in the strategic Red Sea city of Mocha, according to Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television.
A Yemeni government official later told AFP that six missiles struck the Mocha port, although he did not identify the source of the missiles.
Mocha, which is now under Houthi control, lies on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and is strategically positioned near the Bab al-Mandab shipping route.
The reported strikes came amid heightened tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, following the group’s expanding military presence along Yemen’s western coast.
Saudi authorities had also briefly issued warnings on Thursday over potential danger in Abha and Khamis Mushait, areas near the Yemeni border that had been targeted by the Houthis earlier in the week. Saudi Civil Defence later lifted the alerts.
Regional tensions extend to Strait of Hormuz
The developments around Bab al-Mandab came as diplomatic efforts also intensified over another major global shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz.
The Financial Times reported that Gulf foreign ministers were expected to meet Iran’s foreign minister in Oman on Monday as part of efforts led by Oman and Iran to secure agreement on a temporary arrangement for managing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei separately said Tehran was planning a meeting in Oman with the foreign ministers of Iraq and other Arab Gulf states to discuss secure commercial shipping routes through the strategic waterway.
The reports could not immediately be independently verified by Reuters.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also expressed support for the Houthis, writing on X that the “brave Yemeni people” would ultimately prevail.
The latest developments underscore growing regional tensions and the vulnerability of two critical maritime corridors—Bab al-Mandab and the Strait of Hormuz—through which a significant share of global trade and energy supplies passes.
