Houthi Rebels Seize Strategic Red Sea Islands as Regional Tensions Escalate

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, strengthening the Iranian-backed militants’ grip on a critical maritime shipping route.

The takeover, announced by Houthi officials on Monday, comes as Saudi-backed government forces attempted to counter the rebels’ rapid advances around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a vital alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for global shipping.

The seizure follows the Houthis’ recent capture of the Red Sea port of Mokha and another strategic island, placing additional pressure on Saudi energy exports and, by extension, global oil supplies and prices. The move could also afford Iran greater leverage in its broader confrontation with the United States.

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime — in the opening days of the current conflict. Saudi Arabia has since rerouted crude oil exports through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait leading out of the Red Sea.

China, a major Middle Eastern oil importer, condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure as “unacceptable” and expressed being “deeply concerned” about further escalations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said attacks on civilian infrastructure essential to people’s livelihoods cannot be justified and called on all parties to exercise restraint and resolve disputes through dialogue.

Meanwhile, Iran said Saudi Arabia was behind Oman’s decision to postpone a regional meeting that was to bring together Iran and other Gulf countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Saudi Arabia had “demanded” the gathering, which was to be hosted by Oman, be scrapped “for the time being.” Baghaei described the meeting as a “proper opportunity” to restore security in the region and said an agreement between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz had been finalized, though it had not yet been announced.

A Gulf official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saudi Arabia had submitted amendments to the agreement, citing concerns that it could have lasting implications for the Strait of Hormuz and negatively impact other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Iran also denounced Austria’s refusal to issue visas to the Iranian nuclear chief and other delegation members for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in Vienna, calling the decision “completely unjustified.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran summoned the Austrian chargé d’affaires, asserting that Austria, as the host country, was obligated to issue the visas. He accused Western nations of denying Iran an opportunity to defend itself and blamed the United States for pressuring Vienna to deny the visas. The refusal is consistent with U.N. sanctions on Iran, reinstated last year, which include a travel ban on Iranian officials.

In Iraq, an ammonia gas leak at a fertilizer plant in the southern province of Basra killed two people and injured 114 others, according to the Health Ministry. Spokesman Saif al-Badr said most injuries were minor, but 21 people remained hospitalized.

The B’Tselem human rights group said Monday that Israel is carrying out a systematic and accelerated project aimed at “dismantling the foundations of Palestinian existence” in the occupied West Bank. A new report from the group alleges that Israeli actions against Palestinians by settlers and the military are designed to undermine Palestinian collective life “while entrenching a permanent system of Jewish supremacy” across the territory. The report claims Israeli efforts rely heavily on open cooperation between state authorities and armed settlers who attack Palestinian communities using weapons and vehicles supplied by the state, while the military either fails to prevent the violence or, in some cases, participates in it. B’Tselem said that as of July, Israel had taken control of more than 264,402 acres — nearly a fifth of the West Bank — through “armed settler militias.” Most of the international community views settlements as illegal. Settler violence has surged under the ultranationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with rights groups saying the military frequently turns a blind eye to the violence.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Monday with Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, in the coastal city of Jeddah, according to the Saudi state-run news agency. The crown prince, who is the kingdom’s de facto ruler, discussed “bilateral relations and the latest regional developments” with Cooper. The meeting came as Saudi Arabia has faced a series of attacks from Iranian-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq, including strikes on Saudi oil facilities that shut down the country’s East-West pipeline.

Also Monday, a crew of three was unhurt after their aircraft veered off the runway during landing at Misrata International Airport in Libya, the Ministry of Transport said. Authorities were working to extinguish a fire and secure the airport so flight operations could resume, according to the National Unity government’s official communications platform, Hokoumatna.

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