By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Yemen’s Rashad al-Alimi on Sunday has urged international powers to intervene, warned that the vital Red Sea waterway “cannot become another Strait of Hormuz”.
A key alternative route for Saudi oil exports has come under greater Houthi pressure after the Iran-backed Yemeni group seized the Red Sea port of Mokha and the last two islands outside its control around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while stepping up attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
The gains have strengthened the Houthis’ position around the strategic waterway, which serves as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen’s leadership has sought international intervention, warning of consequences for global commerce.
On Sunday, the Houthis said they struck weapons depots and command-and-control rooms at a military base in Saudi Arabia’s Sharurah region.
Yemen’s Houthi military spokesperson Yahia Saree said on X that the facilities had been targeted.
Media reported that two people were injured in a Houthi strike along the Saudi border.
The capture of Mokha and the remaining islands outside Houthi control was reported by CBS, which cited a military official in the Yemeni government.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi called for urgent international action over the developments at Mokha and Bab el-Mandeb.
He said the situation was “not a purely Yemeni affair” because of its impact on regional and international commerce.
Al-Alimi urged global powers “to end what the Houthis have done” at the port and the waterway.
He also warned that Bab el-Mandeb “cannot become another Strait of Hormuz” and that “Yemen cannot become another Iran”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf voiced support for the “Yemeni people” after the Houthi advance into Mokha.
“The brave Yemeni people will certainly triumph, by the permission of God Almighty,” Ghalibaf wrote on X on Friday.
His remarks invoked earlier statements by Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The escalation also follows a drone attack originating from Iran that struck Saudi Arabia’s strategic East-West Pipeline, caused injuries and physical damage.
Media reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked US President Donald Trump to take military action against the Houthis.
US President Donald Trump reportedly declined the request.
