Iran gains leverage with Bab al-Mandab Strait under Houthi control

Iran gains leverage with Bab al-Mandab strait under Houthi control - The Washington Post

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Iran gains leverage with Bab al-Mandab Strait under Houthi control

The waterway, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, is a busy transit point for crude oil, cars and other manufactured goods.

September 15, 2026 at 4:57 a.m. EDT

Today at 4:57 a.m. EDT

8 min

*Forces loyal Yemen's Saudi-backed government ride in a pickup truck south of Hodeidah on Sept. 5. (Khaled Ziad/AFP/Getty Images)*

By

Gerry Shih

and

Sammy Westfall

A lightning offensive along Yemen’s Red Sea coast by Iranian-backed Houthi militants has strengthened Tehran’s leverage in its war of economic attrition with Washington — giving it the ability to threaten a waterway that plays an even broader role in global shipping than the Strait of Hormuz.

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