BREAKING: Yemen's Houthis seized Perim (Mayyun) Island and completed control of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Reuters separately reports they've reached Dhubab, the coastal city directly on the strait. The Houthis now control nearly the entire Yemeni Red Sea coast. This is arguably the most strategically significant territorial gain in the entire Yemen war. Perim sits in the middle of the 29 km-wide strait and physically splits it into two shipping channels. Holding the island plus the adjacent coastline means the Houthis can threaten passing ships with artillery and short-range weapons — not just longer-range missiles and drones from further inland. The strategic nightmare is now real. Iran already controls pressure on Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has been routing more oil west through the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass Hormuz. The Houthis have now closed off that workaround at the exit point. Both of the Middle East's critical shipping chokepoints are under Iranian-axis pressure simultaneously. There is no easy third route. Roughly 10% of global seaborne trade normally passes through Bab-el-Mandeb. Brent crude is above $107. Source: AFP, Reuters