“Houthi Rebels Seize Perim Island in the Red Sea”... Strengthening Control Over the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait

[Financial News]  

Foreign media reported on the 11th local time, citing Yemeni government sources, that Houthi rebels had seized Perim Island, a strategic stronghold in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.
The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, linking the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

CNBC reported that news of Perim Island’s fall emerged just one day after Houthi rebels seized Mokha, a Yemeni port city on the Red Sea coast.
As Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government’s coalition forces struggle to respond, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have intensified their offensive, further strengthening their control over the two key straits—the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.
Perim Island is a small volcanic island in the middle of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and a strategic hub for global logistics connecting the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
With Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz and Perim Island, a gateway to the Bab-el-Mandeb, also falling into the hands of Houthi rebels, serious disruptions to global logistics are expected. Ships entering and leaving the Red Sea have been exposed to the direct threat of Houthi attacks.

Hamish Kinnear, head of Middle East and North Africa analysis at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, said the Houthis had dealt Saudi Arabia a major blow by seizing the port city of Mokha and strengthening their control over the Bab-el-Mandeb. Mokha is a port city located about 75 kilometers north of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
In an analytical note, Kinnear stated, "The Houthis have threatened Saudi shipping for some time," adding, "Nevertheless, the significance of the seizure of Mokha is very substantial." He forecast that the Houthis would use the seizure as a foothold to expand their access along the Bab-el-Mandeb coast and strengthen their control over the strait.
He further assessed that, as the war continues, both Iran and the United States believe time is on their side, making a new short-term ceasefire unlikely.
Kinnear forecast that "oil and gas prices, and more specifically the prices of refined products such as diesel, will continue to rise." He added that even if the United States escorts ships through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes around the strait cushion the price increases, the upward trend cannot be halted.

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