Houthis tighten squeeze on crucial shipping route

Celia Hatton (0:00)

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Celia Hatton, and at 14h GMT on Friday, the 11th of September, these are our main stories. Houthi rebels reportedly take control of a Yemeni island in a key shipping route, sparking fears about global oil supplies. Anthropic says it has detected attempts to use its AI models to develop biological and conventional weapons. Events are held across the United States to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks. We go to New York City.

Richa Gugoy (0:37)

Also in this podcast, they were able to gain trust of these perhaps lonely pensioners and business people. They were able to defraud them and they disappeared into thin air.

Celia Hatton (0:50)

Six Nigerian nationals accused of defrauding more than 100 women through online romance scams are being extradited from South Africa to the US.

Let's begin in Yemen. It's in a strategically important spot, right next to the Bab el-Mandab Strait. It's a narrow waterway that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and has become even more vital to global shipping traffic now that the waterway next to Iran, the state of Hormuz has been closed. And now in Yemen, we're learning that the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has seized a key port on the Bab el-Mandab Strait, the city of Moqa. Adding to that, local officials say Yemeni forces have withdrawn from an island in that waterway, allowing the Houthis to move in.

Our Senior International Investigations Correspondent, Nawal al-Maghafi, knows Yemen well and has reported from there. She gave me her thoughts on this latest development.

Nawal al-Maghafi (1:47)

It's incredibly significant. These are locations that the Yemeni government have had control over for nearly a decade now.

You know, Bab el-Mandab is significant worldwide because of it being one of the main shipping routes. And, you know, the Houthis in the last couple of months have launched an offensive on multiple fronts. They've launched an offensive in Tayyes, which is in the southwest of Yemen, in Marib, which is in central Yemen, and then also in Moqa, which sits right next to the Bab el-Mandab Strait. And that one is the most important because as soon as they have control of it, it means that they have direct access to all that shipping that is passing through Bab el-Mandab. And as you know, Bab el-Mandab has become a lot more important these days because what's happening across the Arabian Peninsula in Iran and Iran having complete control of the Strait of Hormuz and having a huge impact on the shipping that is passing through there. So having Iran in charge of the Strait of Hormuz and its friends in charge of Bab el-Mandab is incredibly complicated and also threatening to the global economy.

Celia Hatton (2:59)

Noelle, how might the Houthis use that ability? They've expanded their presence in that region next to the Bab el-Mandab Strait. How might they use that control?

Nawal al-Maghafi (3:09)

I mean, for now, they're saying that they are only going to target ships that are linked to Saudi Arabia and that their fight is with the Saudi coalition. But, of course, one of the things that is going to come out of this is that it will give Iran an extra bargaining chip. It will give it more leverage on that negotiating table with the United States, that it's in control of the Strait of Hormuz and its allies, the Houthis, are in control of Bab el-Mandab.

Celia Hatton (3:37)

There are reports that Saudi Arabia has asked the United States for help in order to deal with this emerging problem, the continual threat posed by the Houthi rebels. But how might the Saudis or even the Americans try to address this expanding presence in Yemen by the Houthi rebel group?

Nawal al-Maghafi (3:56)

I think something that's really important to note is the forces that were based in Mokka, the forces that are part of the Yemeni government, they were being supported by the UAE for nearly a decade now in this conflict. The UAE pulled out of Yemen just under a year ago, and ever since then, they've been relying on the Saudi-led coalition. Now, I've been speaking to commanders that were leading that fight against the Houthis for the last couple of days, and they told me that the fight is fierce, we don't have enough supplies, we don't have enough weapons, there is no way of confronting the Houthis without air power, and we need that air power from the Saudi-led coalition, and we're just not getting it.

And so it's clear that the UAE pulling out, and them not having that kind of support from the Saudi-led coalition is what's gotten us to where we're at today. The Houthis are in complete control of the city of Mokka, and now in control of the island that sits across it. And so it is incredibly important for that support to come in, in order for the government forces to be able to retake control of that region. It is not difficult, it's desert terrain. And so with air power, they can retake it. And you know, the Houthis don't have significant air power. But whether the Saudis want to involve themselves in the war without US support is a different question. You know, they've been able to distance themselves somewhat since 2022