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After seizing the key Red Sea port of Mokha and the last two islands, which were not under their control, in the strategic shipping route of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemens Houthis continued to strike at bordering Saudi Arabia, the CBS reported, citing a military official in the Yemeni government.
The tightening of the grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by Iran-backed rebels comes as they target ships transiting for Saudi Arabian oil exports, on a route which is an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported. On Sunday (local time), the militant group struck weapons depots and command and control rooms at the military base in Saudi Arabia's Sharurah region, Houthis Yahya Saree said on X. According to Al Jazeera, two people were injured in a Houthi strike along Saudi Arabias border. As Houthis captured the Mokha, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday expressed support for "Yemeni people", invoking past statements from slain Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reacting to developments along the Red Sea coast, Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X, "The brave Yemeni people will certainly triumph, by the permission of God Almighty." The fall of the port city triggered immediate alarm from Yemen's leadership, which called for urgent global action to secure international shipping routes. Following the advance, the head of Yemens Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, stated that developments surrounding Mocha port and the Bab al-Mandeb are not a purely Yemeni affair, but a broader regional and international issue directly impacting global commerce, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Alimi appealed directly to global powers to intervene to end what the Houthis have done at both the key waterway and the port. Warning of broader geopolitical fallout, he emphasised that the Bab al-Mandeb cannot become another Strait of Hormuz and that Yemen cannot become another Iran, calling for decisive international measures, Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, a drone attack originating from Iran struck Saudi Arabias strategic East-West Pipeline and caused injuries and physical damage. According to CBS News, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has asked US President Donald Trump to take military action against Houthis, which he reportedly declined. (ANI)
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