A new strait crisis is brewing in the Red Sea

Houthi gains near Bab el-Mandeb are raising new risks for shipping and putting Saudi Arabia under fresh strain Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, locked in a war with the country’s government and a Saudi-led coalition, is making military gains along the western coast of the country. The military geography of the area has changed within a matter of days.The Houthis seized Mocha, a key port north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and then pushed toward Dhubab and the strategic island of Mayyun, also known as Perim, which lies directly inside the strait. At the same time, the movement strengthened its presence around the Hanish Islands, meaning that what is unfolding can no longer be described simply as another expansion of Houthi-held territory inside Yemen. Ansar Allah is now moving directly toward one of the most important maritime chokepoints in the Middle East.The movement itself insists that international shipping is not the target of its advance, while Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam has said that trade through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remains safe and uninterrupted, even as restrictions against Saudi-linked shipping remain in place.However, it’s not ...