Yemen's Houthi movement has claimed a significant advance along the Red Sea coast, seizing Perim Island at the mouth of the Bab al-Mandab Strait a day after capturing the port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed government forces. A Yemeni military official said the Iran-backed group now controls the entire coastline, further tightening its grip on one of the world's most important shipping corridors and raising fears of wider regional escalation. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly pressed US President Donald Trump to intervene militarily, though Trump has so far only offered intelligence and targeting support rather than direct action.

The offensive, which the Houthis say began on 3 September in response to Saudi "aggression", has also seen the group claim control of six districts in the Taiz and Hodeidah regions, with hundreds of opposing troops reportedly killed, wounded or captured. The Houthis say shipping remains safe for all vessels except those from Saudi Arabia, though the escalation has already contributed to a surge in oil prices. The International Organization for Migration says at least 46,000 people have been displaced since fighting intensified a week ago, with numbers "rising by the hour". A truce that had largely held since 2022 collapsed in July, reigniting the civil war that began after the Houthis ousted Yemen's internationally recognised government in 2015.