Houthi capture of Mokha tightens grip on Red Sea

• Bab al-Mandab risks increase
• Saudi exports face disruption
• Officials cite casualties

Iran-backed Houthis have captured Yemen’s port of Mokha, officials and residents said, strengthening the rebel group’s grip near the Bab al-Mandab strait.

The advance could increase the threat to Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz limits shipments from the Gulf.

Reuters, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reported the capture, citing Yemeni military sources, residents and Saudi officials. The Associated Press said Houthi forces had entered the city.

Mokha, around 60km north of the narrowest point of the strait, has been controlled by forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government.

Neil Quilliam, a Middle East specialist at Chatham House and an AGBI columnist, said Mokha’s significance lay in its location rather than the port itself.

“Control of Mokha gives the Houthis another platform from which to exert pressure on Red Sea shipping, not just at sea but from land,” he said.

“This strengthens their ability to monitor, threaten and disrupt vessels moving through one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints and increases the risks facing global trade, energy supplies and regional security.”

Tareq Saleh, vice chairman of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, did not confirm that Mokha had fallen but reported casualties among government troops after days of Houthi offensives.

Saleh said he had ordered the establishment of a fallback command hub in a secure location to allow his forces to reorganise, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Red Sea pressure

The Houthis have described their actions as a targeted “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia and Israeli-linked vessels, rather than a complete closure of the Red Sea.

Abdulwahab Abu Ras, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi administration, said maritime navigation remained safe but did not directly address reports that Mokha had fallen.

“The security of navigation has nothing to do with the skirmishes that were quelled in the western coast districts,” he told the Houthi-run Saba news agency.

Saudi Arabia can bypass Hormuz by pumping crude across the country to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. However, Houthi attacks on ships and Saudi infrastructure have made that route more hazardous.

The capture follows Houthi attacks this week on energy and military infrastructure across four cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi state oil giant Aramco’s facilities were targeted in Abha, Najran and Jazan, a major Red Sea port and industrial centre. King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait was also struck.

Bab al-Mandab, which means “Gate of Lamentation” in Arabic, lies at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. It is a major route for oil and other cargo moving between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Mokha is a historic port city that became a global centre of the coffee trade and gave its name to mocha coffee.

Further reading:

• Operationally hazardous Red Sea remains open to shipping
• Iranian insurance coercion raises shipping sanctions risks
• Why the latest Houthi strikes are about more than Saudi oil