Houthis Seize a Key Red Sea Island, Threatening Another Global Oil Route

The militia captured the island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a choke point for trade. Saudi Arabia also announced it had shut down a critical oil pipeline after a drone attack launched from Iraq. By Adam Rasgon Shuaib Almosawa Saeed Al-Batati and Pranav Baskar Adam Rasgon reported from Tel Aviv, Shuaib Almosawa from Sanaa, Yemen, and Saeed Al-Batati from Al Mukalla, Yemen. The Iranian-backed Houthi militia seized an island in a choke point of the Red Sea after days of fierce fighting, two Yemeni government officials said Friday, giving Iran and its allies sway over the two main routes for shipping oil out of the Middle East. The capture of Perim Island came as Saudi Arabia announced that it had shut down a critical oil pipeline, a day after Houthi forces swept into the strategic port city of Mokha in Yemen.

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