Yemeni Forces Retake Bab el-Mandeb Coast From Houthis

Between March and mid-July 2026, Saudi seaborne crude oil exports passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait jumped eightfold compared with pre-war levels. When four years of relative calm in Yemen collapsed in July and Houthi fighters seized Mocha, Dhubab, Perim Island, and the Hanish Islands around September 10, Riyadh faced the prospect of having both of its maritime oil corridors choked off at once.

Following their September coastal sweep, the Houthis declared a blockade targeting Saudi shipping and launched waves of ballistic missiles and drones against southern Saudi cities, including Jizan, Abha, and Khamis Mushait, sparking fires at oil and utility installations and pushing global crude prices above $100 a barrel.

Airpower on the Coast, Siege in the Highlands

The counteroffensive launched on Monday followed a Sunday directive from Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), ordering military units to move "from preparation to action." On the flat coastal plain stretching from Dhubab to Mocha, open terrain allowed Saudi coalition warplanes to strike Houthi vehicle columns and radar sites with little natural cover.

Pushing Houthi artillery and spotters off the shoreline makes it significantly harder for the group to target commercial tankers passing through the shipping channel at close range. That coastal relief matters not only for Gulf oil loaders, but also for Asia-to-Europe container lines and regional terminal operators, at a time when major ports are restructuring terminal concessions to speed up vessel turnaround.

Yet retaking the beach does not neutralize the Houthi arsenal. Perched in the rugged mountain ranges overlooking the coastal strip, Houthi forces still possess long-range anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and one-way attack drones capable of reaching both the Red Sea lanes and Saudi infrastructure.

Pressure Builds Around Taiz and Regional Defense Pacts

While government brigades celebrated gains along the water, Houthi fighters tightened their grip further inland. According to military sources cited by The Japan Times, recent advances have left Taiz, an inland city of more than 500,000 residents and a major government garrison, surrounded by Houthi forces. Long queues for cooking gas and motor fuel have already formed across besieged neighborhoods on the city's outskirts.

The escalating cross-border strikes have also activated new regional security alignments. Following a high-level meeting, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan issued a joint statement condemning Houthi drone and missile attempts aimed toward Mecca, Medina, and civilian economic facilities inside the kingdom. The three nations signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August 2026, a mutual defense pact stipulating that an armed attack against one member is treated as an attack on all three.

For energy traders and shipping insurers watching the Bab el-Mandeb Strait this week, the key test is whether Yemeni government forces can hold Mocha and clear the offshore islands of Perim and Hanish without getting bogged down in a mountain war around Taiz. Until ships can transit the Red Sea without drawing fire from the highlands, the world's most important backup oil corridor remains on a hair trigger.