Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, government and Houthi officials say, further strengthening control over the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route.
– The seizure of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish came as Saudi-backed government forces attempt to rally and fight back after the rebels’ swift advances along Yemen’s west coast.
– The escalation – especially Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea – adds pressure on global oil supplies and prices, which could give Iran leverage in its war with the United States.
– The Houthi rebels deployed fighters on the Hanish Islands, 160km (100 miles) north of Bab al-Mandeb, after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, two government officials and a Houthi official told The Associated Press, on condition of anonymity.
https://aje.news/jm4ix2?update=4949340