The Houthi militia has seized a strategic Red Sea island, two Yemeni government officials said on Friday, giving the Iranian ally a foothold in a crucial choke point for global trade.
The capture of Perim Island allows the Houthis to exert greater control over energy shipments through the Red Sea, which could further strain the price of oil and gas.
The Red Sea has become increasingly important to energy markets since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, typically ships its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the world’s oceans, but Iran has effectively closed it since the early days of the war with the United States.
The kingdom pivoted to the Red Sea to export most of its oil, but over the past two months, escalating tensions with the Houthis have disrupted that route.
Perim Island is locally known as Mayyun, and sits in the Bab al-Mandab, a strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. Its capture follows days of fierce ground battles between the Houthis and forces allied with the internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
It was unclear exactly when the Houthis reached Perim Island. The Yemeni officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. A spokesman for Yemeni government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi political official, declined to comment on whether the group took over Perim Island, saying a statement would come soon.
The two sides have been at war since 2014, when the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. Soon after, a Saudi-led military coalition began a bombing campaign to try to restore the government to power, plunging the impoverished nation into a devastating war. A fragile truce, reached in 2022, has unraveled in recent months.
Since fighting escalated sharply in Yemen last week, at least 46,000 people have been displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations body.
On Friday, the Houthi-controlled broadcaster Al-Masirah said that Saudi Arabia had launched two rounds of airstrikes on Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port city that the Houthis had captured a day earlier. The Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group, said that the Houthi takeover of Perim Island was a “game changer,” enabling the group to more easily destabilize Red Sea shipping.
“In the past, they were creating uncertainty, but they were like 90 kilometers away from Bab al-Mandab,” he said. “Now, they’re controlling everything around Bab al-Mandab, the land and the islands.”
On Thursday, the Houthi-affiliated foreign ministry said that the group “will not pose a threat” and that they are “prepared to be part of the regional security framework, particularly with regard to protecting maritime navigation.”
In July, the militia declared a blockade on Saudi oil tankers passing through the Red Sea, and launched missile and drone attacks at ships and Saudi facilities from their territory in northern Yemen.
Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting to this article.
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