Yemen's Houthi fighters' rapid advance along the Red Sea coast has put them in a prime position to control shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb choke point, while bolstering Iran’s leverage against the US, experts tell Middle East Eye.
“The Houthis have pulled off a military victory that puts them one step closer to be in full control of the Bab el-Mandeb,” Corey Ranslem, CEO of maritime security group Dryad Global, told MEE.
“I think it will actually be easier for the Houthis to exert control in Bab el-Mandeb than it is for Iran in the Strait of Hormuz because the US doesn’t have tangible military assets in the area,” he added.
After days of heavy fighting along a narrow plain known as the Tihama, on Thursday the Houthis routed Yemeni forces loyal to Saudi Arabia and seized the historic and strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha.
Arab media reported that the Houthis made further gains throughout the day. They deployed troops on the Hanish Islands, which sit in the middle of the Red Sea across from Eritrea. Meanwhile, Houthi forces continued to advance south to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the island of Perim.
Nearly fifty years after the infamous Red Army Faction trials, Germany’s maximum-security Stammheim Prison is once...
Denmark’s government was cautiously optimistic on Saturday following Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal on Greenland...
Israel plans to seek additional US weapons and defence capabilities as "compensation" after Washington approved the...
When Israel deployed its Iron Beam laser weapon for the first time last December, the announcement...
