Iranian Allies, Houthis, Tighten Grip on Another Key Strait

Iran-aligned Houthi forces have captured Perim Island, a strategically located island inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, expanding their leverage over one of the world’s most important shipping corridors.

The Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Vessels moving between Asia and Europe often pass through it on the way to or from the Suez Canal, making the narrow waterway important to global trade and energy transportation.

The development is especially significant because the region is already dealing with severe disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has increasingly depended on Red Sea export routes as an alternative. Houthi control of strategic positions around Bab el-Mandeb therefore creates pressure on a second major maritime chokepoint.

Capturing Perim does not mean the Houthis have physically closed all traffic through the strait. It does improve their ability to observe, threaten or potentially interfere with vessels using the passage. The offensive has also produced a serious humanitarian cost, with reporting indicating tens of thousands of civilians have fled fighting along the Red Sea coast.

The strategic picture for the United States and its allies is uncomfortable: Iran-backed forces now hold stronger positions around a route that becomes more valuable precisely when Hormuz is less reliable. Whether the Houthis use those positions to directly challenge international shipping will determine whether this territorial gain becomes the next major shock to global trade.