Bab el-Mandeb Blocked as Well... Double Siege on Oil Routes Becomes Reality

[Anchor]

Amid the conflict between the United States and Iran, nearly 100 ships have already been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz since last March. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have begun seizing control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea. With both of the Middle East's core oil transit routes blocked simultaneously, international oil prices surged by more than 6%. Both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) broke through the USD 100 mark for the first time since last May.

Reporter Gwak Sang-eun has the details.

[Reporter]

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control yesterday (September 10) of Mocha, a strategic port city located about 75 kilometers away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea.

[Houthi Rebel : This is the Port of Mocha, by the grace of God.]

Al Jazeera reported that after an additional 18-hour offensive, the Houthis captured Mocha followed sequentially by Dubab and Murad along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

AFP reported that the Houthis advanced into the sea, occupying the Hanish Islands a day prior and then Mayun Island at the entrance of the strait today, fully securing control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

This means the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have secured footholds off the Yemeni coast and in the middle of the Red Sea, enabling them to visually monitor and strike vessels passing through the strait.

Reuters reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directly commanded this operation.

[Tariq Saleh / Yemeni Government Military Official (English Voiceover) : We told the world that this is an Iranian plan, but no one listened to the Yemenites.]

In response to the Houthi offensive, Saudi Arabia launched counterattacks, including bombing Mocha Airport, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's request for the U.S. military to directly strike the Houthis was reportedly refused by Trump.

Meanwhile, offensives continue in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran claiming additional strikes against U.S. military drones and vessels.

While several U.S. fighter jets, including F-15s at Jordan's air base, were reportedly damaged in earlier missile attacks, the acting U.S. Navy secretary stated that the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain was smashed by Iranian attacks.

With the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—the two core oil transit routes—simultaneously blocked in an unprecedented crisis, Middle Eastern politics and the global energy supply chain are plunging into deeper chaos.

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: JUNHO, Cho Souin, Video Source: X @Osint613)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.