Houthi gains threaten key Red Sea shipping route
ADEN
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have seized key positions near the entrance to the Red Sea, raising concerns over shipping as Saudi Arabia shut a major oil pipeline following a drone attack.
The group captured the port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed government forces on Sept. 10.
Yemeni government sources told Reuters that Mayun Island, also known as Perim, fell to the Houthis the following day. Zuqar Island in the Red Sea was also reported to have been captured.
Mayun lies in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and forms part of the shipping route between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal.
Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on its Red Sea ports for oil exports amid disruption to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said the East-West pipeline had been shut as a precaution following drone attacks.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq said the attacks originated in Iraq, but responsibility remained unclear. The pipeline carries crude from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea coast.
Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said defending Bab al-Mandeb meant protecting a major route for trade, energy and food supplies, as well as Yemen’s sovereignty.
Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S. President Donald Trump twice on Sept. 10 to request strikes against the Houthis, but Trump declined.
U.S. officials had told Riyadh that American forces would remain focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, the report said.
CNN separately reported that more than 100 U.S. military advisers were providing intelligence and targeting support to Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper also traveled to the kingdom for coordination talks.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the attacks on Saudi Arabia and regional developments with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in a phone call on Sept. 11, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said.