Yemen’s Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Port, Officials Say

BREAKING: Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis seize the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha, routing government forces and strengthening their position to attack ships in a vital global trade route, officials say.

The Houthis have taken Mokha. Yemen's Iran-backed rebels seized the strategic Red Sea port and routed government forces, officials say, and that changes the map on one of the world's busiest trade routes.

Mokha sits on Yemen's Red Sea coast, close to the Bab al-Mandab strait, the narrow gate every ship uses to move between the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean. Whoever holds that coastline holds a launch pad. The Houthis have spent years attacking commercial shipping from positions further north. Now they have a deep water port even closer to the chokepoint.

And the timing matters. This lands in the same week Iran and the United States have been trading fire around the Gulf. Tehran's most capable proxy just expanded its reach on the water.

Government forces didn't hold the line. The question now is whether any ship in that corridor can count on one.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.