[Anchor]

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized key strategic locations at the entrance of the Red Sea. With both the Strait of Hormuz and the alternative Red Sea gateway now blocked, concerns are growing over global energy supply chains.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the details.

[Reporter]

Al Jazeera reported that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured the port city of Mocha, a strategic location about 75 kilometers away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, the day before yesterday (September 10).

[Houthi Rebel: This is the port of Mocha. By the grace of God.]

Following an 18-hour additional offensive, the Houthis captured Mocha, Dhubab, and Murad along Yemen's Red Sea coast in succession, according to Al Jazeera.

AFP reported that the Houthis advanced into the sea, seizing the Hanish Islands a day earlier, and then captured Perim Island (Mayun Island) at the strait's entrance yesterday, completely securing control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have thus secured bridgeheads 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 Dubbing): We told the world that this was 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 rejected by Trump.

The Yemeni government military indicated that it will launch a counteroffensive this week to retake the Houthi-occupied areas along the Red Sea coast.

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

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yol, Design: JUNHO and SOOIN)