Iran-backed Houthi rebels take strategic port city in Yemen, raising threat to Red Sea shipping

ADEN, Yemen -- The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group on Thursday took over Yemen’s port city of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said.The takeover gives Iran another potential point of leverage in its war with the U.S., analysts said, if the Houthis use their presence in Mokha to ramp up threats or attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.Mokha is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and through which about 12% of the world’s goods are typically shipped.The Bab el-Mandeb's importance to global oil supplies has grown since shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz has been impeded by Iran during its war with the United States and Israel. The Houthis kept mostly to the sidelines when the Iran war began, but over the summer the rebels increased attacks against Yemen's internationally recognized government and declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia, which supports it. While the Houthis have their own reasons for fighting the Saudis, the conflict also serves Iran’s interests by ramping up pressure on the American-allied oil producer as Tehran seeks lever...