Iran-backed Houthis seize near control of vital Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane

Houthi rebels backed by Iran reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, moving to tighten their grip on a vital global shipping route in the widening Middle East war. Earlier, two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said its forces had pulled out of Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island. If ​the Houthis gain control of ‌the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, it could give their backer Iran a critical advantage in its war with ⁠the US, reducing supplies through a second major corridor and further raising oil prices. Read moreMiddle East live: Houthis seize entire Red Sea coast of Yemen The war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran six months ago and Hormuz, conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade, was effectively closed. Since then Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and a ‌close US ally, has relied on the Red Sea route. Iran and the US have escalated attacks this week on Gulf shipping. US ...