The Associated Press and other outlets reported on Sept. 11 that Houthi rebels had seized Perim Island (Mayyun Island), a strategic point within the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, just a day after capturing Mocha, a major port on the Red Sea coast. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces withdrew from Perim Island on Sept. 10. According to the reports, armed Houthi fighters are being deployed along the Bab el-Mandeb coastline.
Perim Island sits in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, splitting the waterway, and is a strategic chokepoint. Agence France-Presse, citing a Yemeni government official, reported that the Houthis have effectively secured control over the Yemeni side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. According to a Yemeni military official, the Houthis also captured the strait's last two islands, Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish. Reuters reported that the Houthis also took Dhubab, on the Yemeni mainland's Red Sea coast opposite Perim Island. The Houthis had earlier declared the end of a four-year truce on July 20, blaming Saudi Arabia for the bombing of the airport in Sanaa, Yemen's capital.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait averaged 9.3 million barrels a day in 2023, about 12% of the global total. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has relied on the Red Sea route since the war with Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. According to the International Energy Agency, Saudi crude supply averaged 6 million barrels a day in August, down 2.3 million barrels from July and the lowest level in more than three decades. U.S. online outlet Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, called U.S. President Donald Trump twice on Sept. 10 to request airstrikes on the Houthis but was turned down.
Saudi Arabia has also struck back. Houthi-run broadcasters reported the same day that Saudi Arabia had carried out an airstrike on the airport in Mocha. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that day, "All navigation is safe except Saudi vessels," warning that "Saudi Arabia will face the same until it halts its attacks and blockade against us." Mohammad Mokber, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Congratulations on this great victory."
With the Middle East war now spreading to the Red Sea, Gulf states have decided to discuss solutions for passage through the Strait of Hormuz directly with Iran. According to the Financial Times on Sept. 11, the foreign ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran will attend the Sept. 14 meeting, which was arranged by Oman.
It will be the first time senior officials from the six GCC states and Iran have gathered in one place since the war with Iran broke out on Feb. 28. With U.S.-Iran negotiations at an impasse, the Gulf states appear to be stepping in directly. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, "As long as aggressive actions and illegal interference such as the U.S. naval blockade and economic war continue, the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed."
