Iran-backed Houthi fighters have seized the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to a Yemeni government official.
The official, who spoke anonymously to AFP, said the rebel group had taken full control of the area on Friday.
Perim, also known as Mayun, lies in the narrow waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The strait is a vital shipping route linking Europe and Asia. Its importance to global trade has grown further amid the war in the Middle East and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis’ advance towards Bab el-Mandeb, along with recent US and Iranian attacks in the Gulf, has pushed oil prices sharply higher in recent days. According to the government official, armed Houthi fighters arrived on Perim by boat after government forces withdrew from the area on Thursday.
Related News
- EU condemns Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia, warns of risk to Gulf security
- In yet more dire straits
- Deadly year for aid workers: At least 326 casualties in 2025, UN reports
Witnesses reportedly saw the fighters deploying military vehicles along the coast. The island divides the strait into two shipping channels.
Commercial vessels and oil tankers travelling between Asia and Europe pass through Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In the opposite direction, the route leads to the Indian Ocean. If the strait were blocked, ships would have to sail around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, a much longer and more expensive route.
The capture of Perim follows a broader rebel offensive in which the Houthis also seized the port city of Mokha on Thursday. The fighters are also reported to have taken Zuqar island.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government for years. Although an unofficial truce has been in place since 2022, violence flared again last summer. The current fighting is the most intense in years and has already left hundreds dead.
