The source reports that Houthi forces in Yemen have declared full, official control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the strategic southern gateway to the Red Sea. The claim follows The Zioneer's earlier reporting that the Houthis had captured Perim Island and the city of Dhubab, completing territorial control.
Sixteen minutes after The Zioneer reported, at 11:39 this morning, that Houthi forces had captured Perim Island and the city of Dhubab — completing territorial control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a new report, citing an unnamed source, says the Iran-backed movement has now declared “official and full” control over the strategic strait, the southern gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. If accurate, the declaration formalizes the Houthi grip on a waterway that, as The Zioneer has reported, is a critical artery for global trade and for Israeli energy security.
The new claim caps a thread that moved from a single desk report to multi-newsroom corroboration. It opened Thursday at 23:17 Jerusalem, when The Zioneer Intelligence Desk reported that Houthi forces, in coordination with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had captured Yemen's western coast, seized Az-Zubab and advanced on the strait. In the same bulletin cycle, two sources in the Yemeni government told Reuters the Houthis had reached Dubab — and then that they had taken the coastal town opposite Perim Island — saying that control of Dubab and Perim Island is essential to dominating the chokepoint. Corroboration widened further when Al Jazeera and AFP, citing official Yemeni sources, reported the capture of Perim Island and Dhubab, completing territorial control; The Zioneer carried the confirmation at 11:39 this morning.
As The Zioneer has reported, an official declaration would cap a rapid western-coast offensive: the reported capture of the port city of Mocha (Sep 10, 14:03 Jerusalem), the seizure of the Al-Omari military base and Zubayr airport, 30 km from the strait (Sep 10, 16:05), and the capture of Mayyun Island and the port town of Murad, confirmed by two Yemeni factions (Sep 11, 10:26). The Zioneer also reported in late July that the Houthis declared a naval siege on the strait (Jul 27) and then announced its closure, threatening missiles and drones at any vessel transiting without prior coordination and payment of a transit fee (Jul 30). The Zioneer's coverage further notes that the offensive has driven up global oil prices and led to the formation of a Saudi-led maritime coalition.
What remains open: the declared “official and full” control rests on a single unnamed source — no on-record statement from Houthi leadership has been cited, and as of 11:55 Jerusalem there was no independent confirmation from shipping, maritime or official channels. It is also unclear what the declaration changes operationally, since the Houthi threat to shipping predates it, and how the Saudi-led maritime coalition will respond has not been reported.
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