Seaward offensive by Yemen’s Houthis aims at chokehold on Red Sea shipping

Renewed clashes between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen around the Red Sea coast could decide the fate of the key shipping lane and are a vital front in stepped-up combat between Iran and the US, according to Adam Baron, a fellow with the Future Security Program at the Washington, DC-based think tank New America.

“The fiercest fighting remains around Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which the Houthis are aiming to wrest from the Tareq Saleh-led National Resistance Forces [NRF] in order to clear their path to Bab al-Mandeb itself,” Baron told Al Jazeera, referring to the maritime strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and beyond it, to the Indian Ocean.

“This all certainly has significant ramifications for Yemen’s decade-long conflict. But in the wake of the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran, the fallout extends far from Yemen itself,” he added.

“If the Houthis continue their march south, they’ll strengthen their ability to effectively shut down Red Sea shipping, a counterpoint to the ongoing blockages of the Strait of Hormuz that underlines the way that the group has emerged as one of Tehran’s most valuable regional allies,” he added.