Yemen warns UN that Houthi control of Bab el-Mandeb threatens world trade

Yemen’s internationally recognized government appealed to the United Nations on Thursday, arguing that the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels’ new foothold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait creates a global economic threat. After seizing the port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands, the Houthis can now monitor traffic through the strait, which carries roughly 12% of worldwide trade. Vice-president Abdullah Abdulkader al Alimi-Bawzer called on nations to keep arms and advanced technology out of rebel hands, noting the long-standing UN arms embargo and recent evidence of Iranian support.

The rebels have announced a blockade of Saudi vessels and claimed to have launched dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Jazan province; Saudi officials said six ballistic missiles targeting Yanbu and Taif were intercepted. The fighting risks a return to full-scale civil war, already displacing nearly 130,000 people and deepening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. The vice-president thanked Saudi Arabia and the United States for their “decisive approach,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated U.S. defense commitments to Saudi Arabia.