Yemen's Houthis capture a Red Sea island in threat to shipping

BREAKING: Iran-backed Houthi rebels capture a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, threatening Saudi oil exports through a key shipping lane.

The Houthis have captured an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

That name matters more than it sounds. The Bab el-Mandeb is the narrow gate between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and you can see just how tight it is here. Millions of barrels of oil pass through it every single day, including a huge share of Saudi exports heading for global markets.

These are the fighters we're talking about, Iran-backed rebels who already control much of northern Yemen. Holding ground in the middle of that strait puts them within reach of commercial shipping, and every tanker crew running that lane now has a new threat to plan around.

Insurers, navies and oil traders will all be recalculating this weekend. When one armed group can sit on a chokepoint for the world's energy supply, the price of that gets paid far beyond Yemen.

This is Angel Manalo, reporting for HIT.