Saudi Airstrikes Hit Rebel-Held Mokha Airport After Houthis Seize Island Near Key Strait

Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes against the airport in Yemen's port city of Mokha on Friday, a Houthi broadcaster said, after the Iranian-backed rebels seized the strategic island of Mayun in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and captured Mokha itself, according to the Houthi broadcaster.

There was no immediate report of damage or deaths from the strikes on Mokha airport, which the Houthis had seized a day earlier.

The capture of Mayun, a tiny, barren volcanic island about 3.5 kilometres off Yemen's west coast, was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government and by a Houthi official, both speaking on condition of anonymity, AP reported. The island is also known as Perim.

The Houthis' entry into Mokha on Thursday was their biggest territorial gain in years against their Saudi-backed Yemeni opponents, bringing them within 80 kilometres of the Bab el-Mandeb. The strait has become an important alternative for global shipping as Iran targets vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Crown Prince Urged Trump To Strike Houthis

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Donald Trump twice on Thursday, urging him to launch strikes against the Houthis as the group closed in on the Red Sea chokepoint, two US officials told Axios.

Trump declined, and US officials stressed the administration has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis for now, according to Axios. The administration will provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence on the Houthis and targeting data, a US official said, adding that roughly 200 US military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia providing non-kinetic support.

"The United States 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," a senior Trump administration official told Axios.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, according to Axios.

Regional Reaction And Shipping Risks

Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, told AP there was "no need for international concern," saying the rebels were responding to Saudi aggression and that "our forces have a bank of big important targets" if Riyadh keeps up the strikes.

Earlier on Friday, Iran's government called for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen, throwing its support behind its Houthi allies. In its first statement since the rebels entered the port, Iran's Foreign Ministry also called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. There was no immediate Saudi comment.

The rebels' capture of Mokha, overlooking tanker routes out of the Red Sea, could boost Iran's strategy of driving up world oil and gas prices to pressure the United States, experts say. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guard called for any negotiated settlement with the US to include Yemen — the first explicit reference to that front, AP reported.

A senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government told AP they were stunned that the Saudi air force did not strike the Houthis earlier as they advanced on Mokha, assessing that Riyadh did not get a green light from the US to embark on a large-scale air campaign. The official also blamed a "lack of coordination" between Yemen's army and allied forces.

About 12% of the world's goods are typically shipped through the Bab el-Mandeb. Shipping through the strait had fallen by about 60 per cent since the Houthis began attacking some ships there in late 2023, and renewed Houthi threats have "curtailed" activity, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.

Civil War Risks And Displacement

The escalating fighting threatens to end a fragile truce that had largely halted Yemen's civil war since 2022. At stake are the 40 million people in the Arab world's poorest country, who fear a return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine.

The surge in fighting over the past week has sent more than 46,000 people fleeing, and "overnight, large numbers of people were reportedly seen leaving Mokha with their belongings," the UN migration agency said on Friday.

The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, when the rebels swept from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen, and the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.