What Happened
Iran-Backed Militia Expands Influence Over Critical Shipping Lane
The Houthis have seized control of the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a critical shipping lane, as part of their effort to assert control over regional oil exports. The Houthis’ advances set conditions to threaten shipping, and they are conducting a coordinated effort with other Axis of Resistance members to coerce Saudi Arabia. The Shia Coordination Framework is reportedly divided on disarming Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. The Houthis’ control of the strait gives Iran an alternative way to pressure energy markets and impose economic costs on the US and its regional allies, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War.