Le Figaro says the Houthis have retaken Bab el-Mandeb; Shargh says 72 ships crossed it in two days

The strait. Le Figaro states the capture flat, in a lede about a Cairo meeting: "La reprise du détroit de Bab el-Mandeb par les Houthis". No source, no date. Shargh, on one unnamed Yemeni source, says 72 ships crossed in two days. No report we hold shows the strait closed, and none contradicts Le Figaro either.

Outlet	What it says is happening at the strait	Attributed to
Le Figaro	"La reprise" — retaken, plus a "lightning offensive" on Saudi Arabia	nobody
Libération	"L'avancée des Houthis en mer Rouge" — an advance	nobody
Frankfurter Allgemeine	Houthis keep shipping "under pressure"; if they escalate, eyes turn to America	nobody
Shargh	72 ships through Bab el-Mandeb in two days	"a Yemeni source", unnamed
TASS	up to 10m barrels a day, rising — through Hormuz, a different strait	Chris Wright, US energy secretary
Reuters	Houthis attack Saudi Arabia, Gulf–Iran talks postponed	headline only

The pump. Three of the eight carry any number at all. Only Life.ru prices the crisis in what a driver hands over — French SP95-E10 above €2.10 a litre — and it credits Le Figaro for that, not its own reporting. We hold no Le Figaro report with the figure. Libération reaches the pump and converts it into votes before a US midterm.

Not settled. Whether the strait is shut, open or contested. What the 72 ships were counted against. Whether the French price is a record. Nobody hurt is named or counted in any of the eight.

What this is about. Who controls Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa that every ship between Asia and the Suez Canal must pass through.

How it got here. Yemen's war began when the Houthi movement, which is based in the country's north, took the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and pushed out the internationally recognised government. In March 2015 Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition and intervened on that government's side. The Houthis have held Sanaa and much of Yemen's Red Sea coast since. After the Gaza war that followed the attacks of 7 October 2023, they began attacking shipping in the Red Sea, saying they were acting over Gaza; carriers rerouted around Africa and Egypt's canal takings fell. This month the fighting moved to the strait itself. We reported on 11 September that outlets disagreed over how much the Houthis had taken, and that Interfax credited Iran with leading it; on 12 September that Iran's Tasnim carried Houthi conditions for reopening the strait, and that Anadolu's account of an Iran–Oman call carried none of them.

Who is in it. The Houthis, who hold the Yemeni shore. Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's government and ships its oil out past two chokepoints — Bab el-Mandeb and, at the other end of the Arabian peninsula, Hormuz. Egypt, whose canal earns nothing from ships that go around Africa: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi receives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. The United States, which guards the sea lanes. Iran's role is disputed: some governments and outlets describe it as arming or directing the Houthis, who say they act on their own.

What is at stake. A closed or contested strait means longer voyages, costlier freight and crude, and higher prices at the pump — Libération ties those prices to a US midterm vote. An open one means the traffic resumes.

Where it stands. Contested. No report we hold shows the strait shut.

The story so far

Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.

What is being argued about

Whether the Houthis hold Bab el-Mandeb, or are pressuring shipping that still passes
What each number counts: ships through one strait, barrels through another, euros a litre in one country
Who is blamed for the price at the pump
What Saudi Arabia asked Washington for, and did not get

One strait, six descriptionsSide by side

outlet	what it said	hedged?
Le Figaro	"La reprise du détroit de Bab el-Mandeb par les Houthis" and their "offensive éclair" on Saudi Arabia	No — stated flat, no source, no date
Libération	"L'avancée des Houthis en mer Rouge" and an attack on a crucial pipeline complicate Riyadh's exports	No — asserted, no source
Frankfurter Allgemeine	The Houthis keep shipping under pressure; should they escalate in the Red Sea, eyes would turn to America	Yes — the claim sits in a conditional about what has not happened
Shargh	72 ships crossed Bab el-Mandeb in the past two days	Attributed — to "a Yemeni source", unnamed, and in the body only
TASS	Oil through Hormuz to rise, averaging up to 10 million barrels a day	Yes — "on average", "up to", a forecast, and for the other strait
Reuters	Houthis attack Saudi Arabia and Gulf–Iran talks are postponed	No — but nobody is named as postponing

What each report says is happening at Bab el-Mandeb, and who it credits.

Sources

Le Figaro L Libération

Frankfurter Allgemeine

Shargh T TASS

Reuters

Claims and verdicts

unverified The Houthis have taken control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Only Le Figaro states the capture of the strait as fact; Libération describes a Houthi advance in the Red Sea and the Frankfurter Allgemeine says only that they are pressuring shipping. No report we hold contradicts it, and none shows the strait closed.

Checked against 5 sources:

Le Figaro L Libération L Libération

Frankfurter Allgemeine

Shargh

unverified 72 ships passed through Bab el-Mandeb in the past two days.

Shargh alone carries the figure, and attributes it to an unnamed Yemeni source. No other report we hold gives any passage count for the strait.

Checked against 1 source:

Shargh

unverified Average French SP95-E10 petrol has passed €2.10 a litre, a record.

Life.ru is the only report we hold with the figure, and it credits Le Figaro rather than its own reporting; we hold no Le Figaro report carrying it. Libération says pump prices are rising worldwide but gives no number.

Checked against 2 sources:

L Life.ru L Libération

Who wrote it

A Alexandra Schwartzbrod Libération

What the bias passes found in their reporting

What the headline claims that the body does not the headline says the US president is buckling; the lede says only that anger is rising before a midterm×1

Whose cost is counted World pump prices are introduced and then measured as American electoral anger, not as what anyone pays.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

2 unverified

From 27 reports we hold under this byline, at Libération. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

H Hala Kodmani Libération

No independent reading has coded a report under this byline yet. We do not infer a journalist's views from the outlet that employs them.

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 unverified

From 10 reports we hold under this byline, at Libération. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

I Isabelle Hanne Libération

No independent reading has coded a report under this byline yet. We do not infer a journalist's views from the outlet that employs them.

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 unverified

From 12 reports we hold under this byline, at Libération. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

L Luc Mathieu Libération

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Actor label The Houthis are called 'rebels' in the report's own voice.×1

Asserted not attributed The Saudi loss is stated flat, with no source given for the judgement.×1

Assertion unattributed States a verdict on the Saudi side as fact, with no one named as saying it×1

Headline exceeds body The headline says the whole strait was seized. The lede reports control of one island in it.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 unverified

From 16 reports we hold under this byline, at Libération. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

G Gregor Grosse Frankfurter Allgemeine

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Hedged forecast in place of an event the whole claim sits in a conditional about what has not happened×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 unverified

From 13 reports we hold under this byline, at Frankfurter Allgemeine. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

Н Наталья Демьянова Life.ru

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Direct quotation paraphrase only; the report quotes none of his words and says he was commenting on songs sung in Russian×1

Headline against body the headline calls it a "harsh" appeal; the body says only that he called on him×1

Lead choice Another report on the same interview leads with the former minister's illness×1

Measure chosen The only report that prices the crisis in what a driver hands over: one grade, one country, one figure per litre.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 false1 misleading3 disputed14 unverified1 true

From 1216 reports we hold under this byline, at Life.ru. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

L Le Figaro avec AFP Le Figaro

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Asserted, not attributed the capture of the strait and a "lightning offensive" are stated flat, with no source and no date×1

Asserted vs attributed The capture of the strait is stated flat, as settled background to a different story, with no source and no date for the claim.×1

Attacker identified by nationality in the headline; the other two reports do not give it×1

Attacker identified by nationality in the headline×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

4 misleading8 disputed27 unverified22 true

From 3015 reports we hold under this byline, at Le Figaro. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 3 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

Shargh — independent

گذر ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب المندب

The only count of traffic through the strait: 72 ships in two days, attributed in the body to an unnamed Yemeni source, with the sourcing dropped from the headline.

جهان ۲۳ شهریور ۱۴۰۵ ۲۲:۱۴ گذر ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب المندب یک منبع یمنی از عبور ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب طی ۲ روز گذشته خبر داد. به گزارش گروه رسانه‌ای شرق، یک منبع در وزارت حمل‌ونقل یمن به شبکه المسیره گفت: طی دو روز گذشته، ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب عبور کرده‌اند. وی افزود: در روز ۱۲ سپتامبر ۲۹ کشتی و در روز ۱۳ سپتامبر ۴۳ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب عبور کرده‌اند. این منبع در ادامه گفت: طی ۴ روز گذشته، ۱۴۵ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب عبور کرده‌اند. منبع: ايسنا برای اطلاع از آخرین اخبار و تحلیل‌ها به کانال شرق در «تلگرام» بپیوندید. کشتی تنگه باب المندب لینک کوتاه --> کپی شد کدخبر: 1128056

Single source: The only shipping count we hold rests on one unnamed Yemeni source, and the headline drops the sourcing the body keeps. — “یک منبع یمنی از عبور ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب طی ۲ روز گذشته خبر داد.”

Whose voice carries the count: the only traffic figure for the strait rests on one unnamed source — “یک منبع یمنی از عبور ۷۲ کشتی از تنگه باب‌المندب طی ۲ روز گذشته خبر داد.”

Read it at Shargh → https://www.sharghdaily.com/fa/tiny/news-1128056

T TASS — state-controlled

Oil shipments via Strait of Hormuz to rise in coming weeks — US Energy Secretary

The only figure from a named official — up to 10 million barrels a day, rising — and it is a forecast, for Hormuz rather than Bab el-Mandeb.

WASHINGTON, September 14. /TASS/. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright forecasts that the volume of oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz will increase in the coming weeks. "We are today up to a 10 million barrel per day average of oil and oil products going on water through the Strait [of Hormuz]. You will see that number grow in the coming weeks," he stated at a press conference at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna. The US and Israel began a war with Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an

Measure chosen: Answers a Bab el-Mandeb question with a Hormuz figure, hedged twice — "on average", "up to" — and carried on one official's word alone. — “On average, up to 10 million barrels of oil and oil products going on water through the Strait, Chris Wright said”

Which measure was chosen: the only barrel figure counts a different strait — Hormuz, not Bab el-Mandeb — and is a forecast, attributed to a named official — “On average, up to 10 million barrels of oil and oil products going on water through the Strait, Chris Wright said”

Read it at TASS → https://tass.com/world/2187525

Reuters — independent

Houthis atacam Arábia Saudita e negociações entre países do Golfo e Irã são adiadas

The only report linking the attack on Saudi Arabia to postponed Gulf–Iran talks; nobody is named as postponing them.

Who is named as acting: The Houthis act in the first clause; in the second the talks are postponed with nobody named as postponing them. — “Houthis atacam Arábia Saudita e negociações entre países do Golfo e Irã são adiadas”

Read it at Reuters → https://www.reuters.com/pt/mundo/JCG5UMUJKBKRLFEVYVP35M7QDY-2026-09-14/

L Libération —

Crise du pétrole : le baril flambe, Trump flanche

Ties world pump prices to the offensive, then measures the rise as American anger before the midterms; the headline says Trump is buckling, the lede does not.

L’offensive des Houthis contre l’Arabie Saoudite complique davantage les exportations de brut, faisant exploser les prix à la pompe dans le monde. Aux Etats-Unis, la colère monte à l’approche des élections de mi-mandat.

Whose cost is counted: World pump prices are introduced and then measured as American electoral anger, not as what anyone pays. — “Aux Etats-Unis, la colère monte à l’approche des élections de mi-mandat.”

What the headline claims that the body does not: the headline says the US president is buckling; the lede says only that anger is rising before a midterm — “Crise du pétrole : le baril flambe, Trump flanche”

Read it at Libération → https://www.liberation.fr/idees-et-debats/editorial/crise-du-petrole-le…

L Libération —

D’Ormuz à Bab el-Mandeb, le pétrole saoudien pris en étau entre deux détroits

The only report naming the attacked pipeline and saying Riyadh has asked Washington for more help without getting it.

L’avancée des Houthis en mer Rouge et l’attaque d’un oléoduc crucial compliquent encore les exportations de Riyad, qui réclame sans succès davantage d’aide américaine. Une instabilité qui provoque l’envol mondial des prix du baril.

Read it at Libération → https://www.liberation.fr/international/moyen-orient/dormuz-a-bab-el-ma…

Frankfurter Allgemeine — independent

Vorstoß der Huthi: Wie die Huthi die internationale Schifffahrt bedrohen

Puts the threat in the conditional: should the Houthis escalate in the Red Sea, eyes would turn to America.

Die Huthi beherrschen die asymmetrische Kriegsführung auf See. Das haben sie lange vor ihrem jüngsten Vormarsch im Jemen bewiesen. Seit Jahren geraten Handelsschiffe im Roten Meer ins Visier der mit Iran verbündeten Miliz. Mit ihrem breiten Waffenarsenal brachte sie selbst die Vereinigten Staaten in Bedrängnis. Nun haben die Rebellen in einer Bodenoffensive strategische Positionen an der wichtigen Meerenge Bab al-Mandab erobert. Das eröffnet ihnen zusätzliche militärische Optionen für Angriffe auf die Schifffahrt. Ende vergangener Woche haben die Huthi zunächst die Hafenstadt Mokha an der West

Hedged forecast in place of an event: the whole claim sits in a conditional about what has not happened — “Sollten sie ihre Angriffe im Roten Meer eskalieren, dürften sich die Blicke auf Amerika richten.”

Read it at Frankfurter Allgemeine → https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/vorstoss-im-jemen-wie-die-h…

L Life.ru —

Бензин во Франции подорожал до исторического максимума

The only price a driver pays: French SP95-E10 above €2.10 a litre, a record, credited to Le Figaro rather than its own reporting.

По свежим данным мониторинга цен, к 12 сентября литр SP95-E10 обходился французским автомобилистам в среднем в €2,131. Дизельное топливо подорожало примерно до €2,31 за литр. Топливо во Франции стремительно дорожает последние месяцы. Ещё в конце февраля литр SP95-E10 стоил примерно на 40 евроцентов дешевле, а дизель — более чем на 50 центов. Одним из основных факторов роста стало повышение мировых цен на нефть на фоне конфликта с Ираном и ситуации вокруг Ормузского пролива. При этом дизель уже вплотную приблизился к своему предыдущему пику. Бензин SP95-E10, напротив, вышел на исторически высок

Measure chosen: The only report that prices the crisis in what a driver hands over: one grade, one country, one figure per litre. — “Средняя стоимость самого популярного бензина SP95-E10 превысила €2,1 за литр”

Who is named as acting: the pump price rises by itself; no actor, no policy and no seller is named, and the figure is sourced to another outlet — “Средняя стоимость самого популярного бензина SP95-E10 превысила €2,1 за литр, сообщает Le Figaro.”

Read it at Life.ru → https://life.ru/p/benzin-vo-frantsii-podorozhal-do-istoricheskogo-maksi…

Le Figaro — independent

Le président égyptien Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recevra mardi le prince héritier saoudien

The only report that states the strait has been retaken, and it states it flat — no source, no date — as background to Egypt's president receiving the Saudi crown prince.

Le président égyptien Abdel Fattah al-Sissi recevra mardi le prince héritier saoudien Mohammed Ben Salman en Égypte, pour discuter notamment de la situation dans la région, a annoncé lundi la présidence égyptienne. Cette visite intervient dans le contexte de l'avancée des Houthis au Yémen qui ont mené ces derniers jours une offensive éclair sur le stratégique détroit de Bab el-Mandeb, et frappé l'Arabie saoudite, qui soutient les forces gouvernementales yéménites.

Asserted vs attributed: The capture of the strait is stated flat, as settled background to a different story, with no source and no date for the claim. — “La reprise du détroit de Bab el-Mandeb par les Houthis”

Asserted, not attributed: the capture of the strait and a "lightning offensive" are stated flat, with no source and no date — “La reprise du détroit de Bab el-Mandeb par les Houthis et leur offensive éclair sur l’Arabie saoudite fait peser une menace économique et sécuritaire sur le Moyen-Orient.”

Read it at Le Figaro → https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/le-president-egyptien-abdel-fattah-a…

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Sections

Registers

Desks

Le Figaro says the Houthis have retaken Bab el-Mandeb; Shargh says 72 ships crossed it in two days

The story so far

What is being argued about

Shut, or 72 ships in two days

The barrel is priced, the tank mostly is not

Claims and verdicts

Who wrote it

Coverage, outlet by outlet