The Houthis’ shock advance and what it means for the world
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What is the Bab al‑Mandeb Strait and why does its control matter?
This is the Guardian.
Today, the battle over the other waterway that could crash the global economy.
Remember that time a few years ago when few of us spared a thought for commercial shipping routes and strategic waterways. How times have changed.
We are following breaking news out of the Middle East where the US and Iran are currently locked in a power struggle over the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway that squeezed the global economy, the US economy, and likely caused you to pay more of the gas pump. Pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormoes Strait a territory of the United States.
Now you'd be forgiven for a sense of deja vu over the past few weeks as another strait has hit the headlines. Welcome to the global stage, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in Yemen.
We've heard so much about the Strait of Hormuz, but the Baba Mandev straight that's another potential flash point. What happens here next could affect us more than the Iran war already has.
Last week, this narrow 50-kilometer stretch of water on Yemen's southwestern coast came under the control of Iran-backed Houthi forces. And according to Patrick Wintor, the Guardian's diplomatic editor, This is a big deal.
Well it's the entranceway between the Red Sea and Asia in effect, and on one side of the waterway is Yemen and Saudi Arabia and on the other side is places such as Djibouti. So it is probably the second most important waterway for commercial shipping in the world.
It's a new front in the conflict between the US and Iran and their allies, which had looked like it was at an impasse. And like the Strait of Formuz, what happens next with the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is not just a big deal for the Middle East. It's a big deal for all of us.
If there is a real slowdown in commercial oil traffic through that street, then you are going to see interest rates rise in Europe, you're going to see unemployment rise, you're going to see inflation rise. This is a A war where the fronts move and the front is going to eventually move much more closely than it has to the European economy.
From The Guardian, I'm Annie Kelly. Today I'm focused. Straight for the jugular, the Hooty shock advance and what it could mean for the world.
Patrick, we've seen this lightning advance by the Houthi forces in Yemen over the last two weeks, which, you know, appears to have surprised everybody. the Yemeni government, their Saudi backers, the international community. Can you just tell us what has been happening and why is it so important?
There's been a civil war in Yemen
How did the Houthis achieve a lightning‑fast advance along Yemen’s coast?
for m more than a decade. And the turning point in that civil war was when the Houthis came from the north and captured the the capital Sana'a in twenty fourteen and nearly took over the whole of Yemen, were then forced back for a bit. But after that there was a then a very long Saudi aerial bombing campaign which didn't succeed in pushing the Houthis out of the capital Sana'a. And then since then there's been an effect of a stale
And at that point the Hooties started to fire missiles into Saudi Arabia and since then there's been a gradual flare up.
Tensions growing in the Middle East. Video showing a column of smoke near the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two significant military operations were carried out using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones. The first targeted the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramko in Yambou.
And then it became clear that the Houthis were intent on going down the west coast of Yemen along by the Red Sea and they moved about a hundred kilometers at lightning speed.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels' advance continues. They claim to have taken the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the key Babal Mandeb Strait.
Taking probably the most important port was Mocha, where the coffee bean of Mocha fame comes from. They managed to get right down to the bottom of the Bandab Strait, and that means they have got control of that strait, they've got control of some of the islands across that strait.
And you know, y we said that they moved with lightning speak.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the Bab al‑Mandeb Strait and why does its control matter?
0:00–3:14
2
How did the Houthis achieve a lightning‑fast advance along Yemen’s coast?
3:14–6:24
3
Why were the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands easy for the Houthis to capture?
6:24–9:30
4
What role do Iran’s funding and indigenous weapon production play in the Houthi surge?
9:30–11:51
5
How could Houthi control of the strait impact global oil prices and inflation?
11:51–14:42
6
What are the possible responses from Saudi Arabia, the US and Europe?
14:42–17:36
7
How might the conflict in the Bab al‑Mandeb affect the upcoming UN General Assembly agenda?
17:36–20:06
8
What are the likely next moves for the Houthis and their backers in this two‑front war?
20:06–22:43
Speakers
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