- Iran-backed Houthi forces swiftly captured the strategic port of Mocha and Perim Island, putting them in a position to threaten passage through the Bab al‑Mandeb Strait and disrupt Red Sea shipping.
- The advance risks driving oil prices higher and could turn Yemen/Red Sea into a wider “second front” in the Iran conflict—a sensitive development ahead of US midterm politics.
- The rapid fall triggered finger‑pointing: alleged Saudi/US inaction on promised air support, Yemeni political disunity, and the UAE troop pullout left defenses fractured.
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