Two Straits, One Front: Ansar Allah’s Strategic Victory at Bab el-Mandeb

The capture of Mocha, Dhubab and the strategic Red Sea islands has transformed Yemen’s maritime position. 

Iran and Ansar Allah now possess the ability to exert pressure at the two gateways.

By Elijah J. Magnier –

Ansar Allah’s advance along Yemen’s western coast represents far more than a territorial victory over forces supported by Saudi Arabia. By capturing Mocha, Dhubab and the strategic islands overlooking Bab el-Mandeb, the Yemeni movement has altered the maritime balance across West Asia.

Iran already exercises decisive denial leverage in the Strait of Hormuz. Ansar Allah has now acquired a comparable position at Bab el-Mandeb, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. These two forces do not exercise uncontested legal sovereignty over either international waterway, but they possess the missiles, drones, coastal positions and political will required to determine which vessels can navigate safely.

Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb have consequently become two fronts of the same confrontation. Their objectives are aligned: to challenge American and Israeli freedom of action, impose a cost on Saudi Arabia for its continuing pressure on Yemen and prevent Western military superiority from guaranteeing unrestricted commercial navigation.

This is the strategic gain. Iran and its Yemeni ally no longer need to defeat the United States, Israel or Saudi Arabia conventionally. They need only demonstrate that none of these powers can protect every tanker, container ship and naval vessel crossing two of the world’s most indispensable maritime chokepoints.