Sep 10, 2:02 PM
The Gate of Tears Swings Shut
Houthi forces capture Mokha and press toward the Bab al-Mandeb, threatening global energy routes and pushing crude past $100.
Global commerce faces a predictable, glaring vulnerability. With the fall of the Yemeni port city of Mokha and the capture of Zuqar Island, Houthi rebels have advanced to the immediate threshold of the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The strategic move threatens to place a critical artery of international shipping under the direct operational influence of an Iranian-backed militia.
The economic implications are immediate and severe. Alongside the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandeb strait facilitates nearly one-third of global maritime trade and a quarter of daily crude oil shipments. Recent strikes on oil tankers and infrastructure have pushed crude oil prices past 100 dollars a barrel. Consultations between Houthi leaders and Tehran regarding potential passage tolls through the strait indicate a deliberate attempt to leverage maritime geography against international commerce.
This offensive represents a sharp escalation in Yemen’s long-running conflict, which lay largely dormant under a 2022 United Nations-brokered truce before unraveling in July over airspace disputes. In recent days, more than 500 people, mostly combatants, have been killed. Houthi forces launched ballistic missile and drone attacks into southern Saudi Arabia, targeting locations such as Khamis Mushait and Abha, while the Saudi-led coalition responded with roughly 40 airstrikes across multiple governorates.
Military commanders aligned with Yemen's recognized government foresaw this development. In mid-August, Major-General Sadeq Duwaid of the National Resistance Forces warned that the sustained assault on Mokha was designed to establish a permanent presence along the Red Sea coast, mirroring the chokehold tactics long deployed around the Strait of Hormuz.
Having secured Mokha after weeks of missile bombardment that paralyzed its harbor, Houthi forces are now directing their push toward Dhubab and Perim Island. Control of Perim Island, which divides the Bab al-Mandeb into two main shipping channels, would grant the group direct control over the passage known historically as the Gate of Tears.
Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com
