• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
The Yemen Houthis, aligned with Tehran, have reached the strategic Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, four government sources confirmed to Reuters. The advance seeks to consolidate their dominance over this vital global maritime route amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Previously, sources from the internationally recognized Yemeni government—backed by Riyadh—reported that their troops withdrew from the island and that the insurgency also took the coastal city of Dhubab, located directly opposite.
Control of Bab el-Mandeb—situated at the opposite end of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz—would give Iran a critical point of leverage against the United States by restricting a second key energy corridor and pushing crude oil prices higher.
Saudi Arabia has relied on this Red Sea route since the conflict effectively blocked passage through Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil circulated.
For Riyadh, the situation is further complicated after satellite images detected smoke near the East-West pipeline, the route used by state-owned Aramco to divert its exports westward since attacks between the U.S., Israel, and Iran began six months ago.
This instability and rebel attacks reduced Saudi supply to 6 million barrels per day in August (its lowest level in three decades), pushing crude oil prices above $100.
However, prices experienced a slight reprieve amid negotiations promoted by Oman and Iran to reach a temporary navigation agreement in Hormuz, a meeting scheduled for this Monday in Salalah with Gulf foreign ministers.
On the ground front, government forces announced a counteroffensive to retake the Red Sea coast, urging the population to evacuate the route between Taiz and the recently captured city of Mocha.
According to regional and Iranian sources consulted by Reuters, this rapid insurgent offensive had direct guidance from Iran's Revolutionary Guard to open a new front against Washington.
