Iran-aligned Houthi fighters have captured a strategic Red Sea port and moved closer to one of the world's busiest shipping chokepoints.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement captured the coastal city of Mocha on Thursday, September 10, 2026, and advanced to the nearby Hanish islands, according to three Yemeni government sources cited by Reuters. The seizure pushed Saudi-backed government forces south toward Dhubab, a coastal area directly opposite Perim Island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, marking what government sources described as a dramatic strategic shift in Yemen's civil war.
Advance Toward the Strait
Mocha, a historic Red Sea port south of Hodeidah, gives the Houthis a significant coastal foothold closer to Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni sources told Reuters that control of Dhubab and Perim Island is considered key to dominating the strait, since the positions offer vantage points for missiles, drones and coastal artillery. A military source told AFP, as reported by Al-Monitor and Ahram Online, that Houthi fighters were seen marching on the area chanting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans as they pressed their advance.
A Houthi spokesperson said, according to Reuters, that "freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and the Strait remain safe" and that operations were "limited to specific targets." The claim stands alongside the group's prior declaration, on July 20, 2026, of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, which the Saudi-led coalition said it would counter "firmly."
Iran Fires Missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain After US Strikes
Wider Regional Pressure Campaign
The Mocha advance follows months of escalating Houthi maritime activity. On August 5, 2026, the group said it had launched missile attacks on a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu and another in the Gulf of Aden. Reuters reported on July 16 that Iran had asked the Houthis to be ready to close the Red Sea route if the United States struck Iranian power infrastructure. Yemen's foreign minister-designate, Afrah Al-Zouba, told Reuters on July 27 that "the Houthis want to copy the Iranian model and this will shut down two main straits, the gateways into the Gulf and Red Sea." Reuters analysis notes a full Bab el-Mandeb closure could cut global oil supply by roughly 7%, though no closure has been confirmed as of September 10.
