NewzCAIRO (AP) — Iranian-backed Houthi broadcaster says Saudi airstrikes have hit rebel-held Mokha airport in Yemen. CAIRO (AP) — Yemen 's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, two officials said Friday in a swift advance that further threatens Saudi oil exports through one of the world’s key commercial lanes.Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes against the airport in the key port city of Mokha that the Houthis seized on Thursday, a Houthi broadcaster said. There was no immediate report of damage or deaths.The capture of Mayun, a tiny, barren volcanic island in the strait, was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and by a Houthi official.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.The island, also known as Perim, is about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) off Yemen’s west coast.The strait is a key alternative to the Iran-choked Strait of Hormuz. But there is “no need for international concern,” Hazam al-Assad, a member of the rebels’ political bureau, told The Associated Press, saying they are responding to Saudi aggression, and “our forces have a bank of big important targets” in case Riyadh keeps up the strikes.Earlier Friday, Iran’s government called for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen, throwing its support behind its ally, the Houthis. In its first statement since the rebels entered the port, Iran’s Foreign Ministry also called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.There was no immediate Saudi comment on Friday.The rebels’ capture of Mokha, overlooking tanker routes out of the Red Sea, could boost Iran’s strategy of driving up world oil and gas prices to pressure the United States, experts say.
It also raises concerns of a new front opening after more than six months of war in the region – one in which Saudi Arabia is forced to respond.Experts say the developments in Yemen could give Tehran more leverage in any negotiations with the U.S. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard called for any negotiated settlement with the U.S. to include Yemen, the first explicit reference to that front.Events threaten a key Strait of Hormuz alternativeThe Houthis’ entry into Mokha on Thursday was their biggest territorial gain in years against their Saudi-backed Yemeni opponents.
It brought them within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Bab el-M… CAIRO (AP) — Saudi airstrikes hit the rebel-held Mokha airport in Yemen on Friday, an Iranian-backed Houthi broadcaster reported, a day after the Houthis entered the key port city on the Red Sea, bringing them closer to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.Their advance further threatens commercial shipping on an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.Earlier Friday, Iran’s government called for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen, throwing its support behind its ally, the Houthis. It brought them within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Bab el-Mandeb, a strait that has become an important alternative for global shipping as Iran targets vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.The Houthis have already hiked up attacks on Saudi shipping in Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea since declaring a blockade there in July, as well as oil infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis said the move was in response to the kingdom’s blockade of Houthi-held parts of Yemen, in place for years.Disruption to the waterway could mean trouble for all shipping and for the price of crude oil, which has now soared again. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb to export its crude since Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. About 12% of the world’s goods are typically shipped through the strait.Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb had fallen by about 60% since the Houthis began attackin…
Summary from source