Iran-backed Houthis seize near control of vital Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured the strategic Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, officials said on Friday. The lightning move opens a new front in the Iran war and threatens energy supplies, especially Saudi oil exports, from passing through one of the world's key shipping lanes.