Ansar Allah’s capture of the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha marks a major setback for the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and threatens to create a wider strategic dilemma for both Saudi Arabia and the United States, The Guardian reported Thursday.

The advance is part of a broader push by Ansar Allah to seize more of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. According to The Guardian, If the group succeeds in consolidating control over the coast, it could bring Iran and its allies closer to influence over two critical maritime chokepoints on opposite sides of the Arabian Peninsula: the Bab al-Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. The Guardian described such an outcome as a “strategic disaster” for Saudi Arabia and the US.

The development comes as Washington and Tehran remain locked in a wider confrontation over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The expansion of fighting in Yemen therefore risks opening a second front in the war, with Ansar Allah seeking to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia and the US by threatening another major maritime route.

Source:Websites