Houthis seize Mocha as strikes on southern Saudi Arabia and Hormuz pressure escalate

The war is widening again: Iran-aligned Houthi forces seized the port city of Mocha and pushed toward the Hanish islands near the Bab El Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea route Saudi Arabia has leaned on since the Hormuz corridor effectively closed to a fifth of global oil flows. Iranian arms and advice helped the Houthis take Mocha, according to Reuters’ sources.

The advance came after the Houthis continued to attack southern Saudi cities on Wednesday, hitting Abha, Khamis Mushait, and Jazan. The Kingdom lifted alerts in Khamis Mushait and Abha, with Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki Al Malki saying the coalition would respond “responsibly.” Tuesday’s attacks hit energy facilities and civilian locations across Abha, Najran, Jazan, and Khamis Mushait, injuring 73 civilians. The Houthis said their missiles hit Aramco facilities, setting off fires and forcing a “temporary halt” in operations.

Saudi is hitting back: Saudi-backed forces launched 54 airstrikes across Yemen's Al Jawf, Marib, Taiz, Hodeidah, Saada, and Al Bayda, Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said, citing Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree. The Al Jawf strikes resulted in at least 32 casualties, the Houthi Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, Iran is keeping up the Hormuz pressure: Tehran says it captured a US submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz, and several merchant vessels were hit by disabling fire in the Gulf of Oman this week. Separately, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has confirmed activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain site — the suspected nuclear facility Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike.

AND- Saudi Arabia approved a national initiative to provide ins. for cargo and vessels against war risks, the Ins. Authority said on X. The Saudi Pool for Marine Ins. will cover cargo, hull, charterers’ liability, protection, and indemnity ins., arranged by Saudi Re under Ins. Authority supervision, with local insurers participating. The pool is meant to expand the market’s capacity to absorb war and political risk through a public-private structure, Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan tells SPA.