By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed argues Houthi capture of Mokha, Perim, and the Hanish/Zuqar islands gives Iran-aligned forces a hold on Bab al-Mandab to match pressure on Hormuz, raising the cost of oil shipping ahead of U.S. midterms and any talks with Washington.

He says the same ground was taken a decade ago and later retaken by the Saudi-led coalition; holding a wide new front around Mokha may also stretch the Houthis. He links the threat to shipping and to Iran-aligned groups in Somalia.

Yemen’s recognized government is described as rebuilding and unable to finish the fight alone. The author compares the Houthis to Hezbollah and the Taliban and wants regional plus international support, not only Gulf effort. These are his claims about a fast-moving war.

The latest developments on the ground in Yemen are so significant that their seriousness cannot be understated. Iran now has an arm on the vital Bab Al-Mandab Strait through its proxy, the Houthi militia, which has seized the port of Mokha and the Yemeni islands in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthis’ aggressive military activities leading up to the attack pointed to one of three possibilities: either they were targeting Saudi areas bordering Yemen to the north, oil........

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