Houthis ‘take control’ of key island in global shipping route
Fighters from the Iran-backed Houthi movement have “taken control” of a key island on the Red Sea, a government source says
Perim Island divides the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to a trade route that links Asia and Europe - here’s why it is significant
In a statement, the Houthis say “maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels” and claim their military operation has been a “success” - but they do not mention Perim Island
The group also claims it has expelled “Saudi-backed forces” from Yemen’s western coast
Saudi Arabia has relied on the Red Sea for oil exports since the US and Israel’s war effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz
At least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week, according to the International Organization for Migration
Dan WoodlandLive reporter
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have “taken control” of Perim Island in the Red Sea as part of a “large-scale” military operation to expel the opposing “Saudi-backed forces”.
The island sits on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which acts as a gateway to a key shipping route linking Asia and Europe - here’s why it is significant.
While the Houthis claim the Strait “is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels”, there are fears such a move could threaten one of the world’s most important maritime waterways, writes the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent.
The Iran-backed group escalated fighting last week and has made a “lightning” advance to occupy new territory, having now reportedly seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast.
These latest escalations are likely to further squeeze the global energy market amid concerns that Saudi Arabia - the world’s second biggest oil producer - could face more pressure on its oil supplies.
Meanwhile, the US has offered intelligence and targeting support for Saudi Arabia, but says it is not prepared, at least for now, to take direct military action.
We are now ending our live coverage, but you can read more in our news story.
While the Houthis have said they pose no threat to international shipping, they have reiterated their intention to target vessels from Saudi Arabia and seized territory near the the Bab al-Mandab Strait - a key trade gateway linking Asia and Europe.
The potential disruption to Red Sea shipping could have a knock-on effect on global oil prices, as Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on the waterway for oil exports since the US and Israel’s war on Iran severely limited access through the Strait of Hormuz.
Watch BBC Verify’s analysis of the possible implications here:
Mitch LabiakBusiness reporter
Despite the Houthi blockade of Saudi vessels, oil prices have remained calm for now.
The reason for this is likely that those who trade wholesale are unsure what the impact of the closure will be. This, in turn, makes predicting what the impact will be on energy prices and petrol prices at the pump very difficult.
On the one hand, the impact could be huge. The Bab al-Mandab Strait has been a lifeline for Saudi oil since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and, if all oil exports are blocked it will push up oil prices.
On the other hand, the impact could be limited. If the Bab al-Mandab Strait is closed completely, oil could go through the Suez Canal, though this can be expensive and costly.
In addition, most big oil tankers are not Saudi-registered, so if the blockade remains purely a Saudi one, oil from many other countries will find a way to be sold.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly asked Donald Trump to take military action against the Iran-backed Houthis following their rapid advance across Yemen’s west coast.
Salman has spoken to the US president multiple times in recent days, but Trump declined to get involved, two sources familiar with the matter tell the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
The Saudis are seeking to build a coalition with the US amid concerns any attack against the Houthis could see Iran retaliate, the outlet adds.
Trump has instead offered to assist with intelligence and targeting support, although talks between the two countries “remain fluid”, CBS adds, citing sources familiar.
A senior administration official did not answer a question about the call with the crown prince, but says that the US is “focused on protecting our core national security interests—such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea—while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges.
“We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability.”
Feras KilaniBBC Arabic’s special correspondent
Ali Mohammed Khumaisi has not seen his family in eight years
Ali Mohammed Khumaisi appears lost in thought, struggling to believe he has now spent eight years living in a makeshift shelter made of reeds, unable to reach his family just 12 miles (20km) away.
He left the family home to visit his father in a nearby village one day when a surprise offensive drove the Houthis out of the area surrounding his family home – and Ali found himself trapped on the wrong side of the front line.
He now lives in a makeshift shelter at al-Mahrabah displacement camp, in north-western Yemen, only a few kilometres from government-held areas near the Saudi border.
“I call my children. They cry, and I cry. We cannot reach each other. Neither they nor I can get through because of this war,” he told BBC News Arabic last week.
“Every day, the situation gets worse. War could return to this area at any moment. Artillery fire from the north is already close to us.
“I am afraid that one day my children and I will be separated forever and that I will never be able to reach them.”
The UN classifies Yemen among the world’s largest displacement crises, with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting that 46,000 have been displaced in the last week alone.
By Richard Irvine-Brown
If the smoke plume visible today on Saudi Arabia’s oil pipeline which connects the Gulf to the Red Sea is confirmed to be from a Houthi attack, it would be the latest incident where the Iran-backed armed group has targeted Saudi oil infrastructure.
On 27 July, the Houthis claimed to have struck oil refineries in both the east and west of Saudi Arabia.
Satellite images on the day confirmed a large, dark fire at the south east corner of the refinery at Aqabiq, on the east coast.
A larger smoke plume was seen on 26 July on the Saudi west coast, at the refinery north of Jazan.
Nawal Al-MaghafiSenior international correspondent
One interesting detail in the Houthis’ messaging since their capture of Mokha is their insistence that international shipping has nothing to fear.
The group says vessels can continue to navigate the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab safely, with one important exception: ships affiliated with Saudi Arabia, which remain subject to the Houthis’ naval blockade.
That distinction may be significant. The Houthis have previously demonstrated that they can threaten international shipping in the Red Sea.
By explicitly limiting their current threat to Saudi-linked vessels, they could be signalling to President Trump and the wider international community that they do not intend, for now at least, to threaten their ships or turn this into a broader confrontation.
And that raises an interesting question about Washington’s response.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly asked Trump on Thursday for direct US military assistance against the Houthis. The US declined.
Washington has instead offered intelligence and targeting support, but says it is not prepared, at least for now, to take direct military action.
The Trump administration appears determined to avoid opening another front while its forces remain focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
So, the Houthis may be making a calculated distinction: putting maximum pressure on Saudi Arabia and its vital Red Sea oil route, while trying not to give Washington an immediate reason to enter the conflict directly.
Whether they can maintain that distinction if the fighting escalates is another question entirely.
The Iran-backed Houthi movement has seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, an unnamed Yemeni military official tells AFP news agency.
The official with the internationally-recognised Yemeni government tells the news agency that “everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen.”
The military official also tells AFP that the Houthis have seized two other islands in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. That follows earlier reports that the group has taken control of Perim Island in the key shipping waterway.
Nawal Al-MaghafiSenior International Correspondent
Houthi fighters during a protest against Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on 17 July
The Houthis are often described simply as an Iranian proxy. The reality is more complicated.
There is no question that Iran has played a significant role in building the group’s military capabilities.
Over many years, Tehran has provided weapons, technology, training, and expertise that have helped transform the Houthis from a Yemeni insurgent movement into a force capable of firing sophisticated missiles and drones hundreds of miles beyond Yemen’s borders.
But that does not necessarily mean Tehran dictates every Houthi decision.
The Houthis have their own leadership, their own domestic ambitions inside Yemen and have demonstrated a degree of independence from Iran that distinguishes them from some other groups within Tehran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance”.
What is particularly significant now is how closely their interests appear to be converging.
Iran has publicly backed the Houthis during the latest fighting. The geography helps explain why.
Iran already has the ability to exert enormous pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis’ advance towards Bab al-Mandab potentially creates pressure at another vital shipping route on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
That doesn’t mean the Houthis are simply taking orders from Tehran.
But at this moment, their military objectives inside Yemen and Iran’s interests in the wider regional war appear increasingly aligned.
Jack GreyLive reporter
Fighters from the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen have “taken control” of Perim Island in the Red Sea, a government source says.
The island divides the Bab al-Mandab Strait - a key global shipping route.
The strait, at the southern tip of the Red Sea, links both Europe - through the Suez Canal - and Saudi Arabia’s western ports to the Indian Ocean and Asia as a whole.
Here are they key points:
Simi JolaosoBBC Africa correspondent
On the opposite side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait from Yemen lies tiny Djibouti, whose location has made it one of the most strategically important countries in Africa.
The narrow waterway between the African coast and Yemen connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and, beyond it, the Suez Canal, making it a crucial route for ships travelling between Europe and Asia.
That would explain the unusual concentration of military power along Djibouti’s coastline.
The United States, China, France, Japan and Italy all operate military facilities there.
The US base at Camp Lemonnier supports around 4,000 US and allied personnel, while China opened its first overseas military support base in Djibouti in 2017. Both bases are only a few miles apart.
Japan’s only overseas Self-Defense Force Base is also there; alongside long-established French forces and an Italian military base.
Their missions range from counter-piracy and counter-terrorism to protecting shipping, gathering intelligence and providing logistical support.
The location has taken on renewed importance as fighting intensifies just across the water.
Iran-backed Houthi forces are reported to have captured territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Several of the world’s biggest military powers already have forces positioned beside this crucial shipping route.
So while much of the attention is currently on Yemen, the African shore illustrates just how much is at stake.
Nawal Al-MaghafiSenior International Correspondent
The speed of the Houthi advance along Yemen’s western coast has taken many by surprise.
On Thursday, the group seized Mokha, the strategically important Red Sea port that had been controlled by forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Contacts I have been speaking to in and around Mokha described government forces pulling out rapidly as the Houthis entered. Residents spoke of shops closing and families leaving the city, uncertain about how far the group intended to advance. The UN says more than 46,000 people have now fled amid the latest fighting.
But the Houthis have not stopped at Mokha.
On Friday, officia