The Jerusalem Post says the Houthis "took control" of Mocha; Al Jazeera says only "advancing"

The claim. The Jerusalem Post says the Houthis "took control of Mocha", a Yemeni Red Sea port less than 50 miles from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, citing Yemeni officials speaking to Reuters. France 24 says they "seized" it and credits four Yemeni government military sources. Al Jazeera says only that they are "advancing along the Red Sea coast". LBCI carries two government military sources saying the Houthis "reached" the Hanish islands; France 24 says they were "launching attacks on" them. No Houthi source confirms the capture; no report we hold denies it.

One force, six words.

What it is measured in. Arutz Sheva reports "fears of a new chokehold on global trade and energy routes" without naming who holds them. An-Nahar alone puts a figure on the strait: Kpler data showing about 7 percent of world oil production passed through in June. IRNA quotes Abdulaziz bin Habtour of Yemen's Supreme Political Council saying Yemen's sovereignty over its own coast threatens no international shipping.

Not settled. Whether the city fell, and on whose account. The Jerusalem Post alone reports maps of a Revolutionary Guard plan for the strait, found on a captured commander's laptop and attributed to the Yemeni military. No report we hold names a person in Mocha, quotes a resident, or gives a casualty figure.

What it is about. Who controls Yemen's Red Sea coastline, and with it one of the two narrow sea gates through which much of the world's oil and cargo passes.

How it got here. Yemen has been at war since 2014, when the Houthi movement — which calls itself Ansarallah — took the capital, Sanaa, and pushed out the internationally recognised government. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 to restore that government. The front then barely moved for years: the Houthis held the north and the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, while coalition-backed forces took the coastal town of Mocha in 2017 and held the south.

From late 2023, An-Nahar reports, the Houthis mounted a sustained campaign against ships in the southern Red Sea and at Bab al-Mandeb in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during Israel's war on the territory. Shipping lines and oil companies rerouted around southern Africa, adding weeks and cost to voyages.

A war between the United States and Iran is now under way; An-Nahar reports energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen sharply and oil prices risen. We reported on 8 September that Riyadh said 73 civilians were wounded and that the parliament in Sanaa condemned "Saudi crimes".

Who is in it. The Houthis, who govern from Sanaa. Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, the recognised government, and Saudi Arabia, which backs it. Iran, which Western and Israeli outlets describe as the Houthis' sponsor. The United States, at war with Iran. Israel, whose outlets cover the Houthis as an Iranian front.

What is at stake. Bab al-Mandeb is 29 kilometres wide at its narrowest, An-Nahar reports, and is the southern gateway to the Suez Canal. Whoever holds both shores can watch, or stop, what passes.

Where it stands. The Houthis already hold Hodeidah. South of Mocha lies Dhubab, facing the strait itself; An-Nahar calls Dhubab and Perim island the key to closing it.