Saudi Arabia presses for free navigation as the Houthis take ground at Bab el-Mandeb

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the United Nations General Assembly that the Strait of Hormuz must return to its pre-war status without tolls, and said Iran had attacked the kingdom unjustly¹. He called for global cooperation to protect freedom of navigation², naming Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb as two key waterways for global trade and energy supplies³. He also affirmed Saudi Arabia’s full right to protect its security and sovereignty¹.

Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, used the same platform to call for both straits to remain open, describing them as arteries of the global economy⁴.

On the water, the position has moved against the kingdom. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces lost control of the Bab el-Mandeb waterway, which the Times of India described as a significant setback for Riyadh⁹. The Houthis have seized Mocha Port in western Yemen and Perim Island in Bab el-Mandeb, in fighting in which 62 Houthi fighters also died¹⁰. Yemen’s president has declared a general mobilisation against the group¹⁰, and the government is offering amnesty to Houthi defectors⁷. Fighting between the two sides has intensified, most recently near the coast of the strait⁷.

Why it matters to investors

Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz sit at either end of the Gulf-to-Europe energy and container route, and both are now contested rather than merely risky³. Commercial vessels are anchored off Yemen’s coast at Bab el-Mandeb rather than transiting it².

The Houthis have told the European Union they will not target European ships in the Red Sea^5,6, a selective assurance rather than a reopening. The UN Security Council has condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia⁵. Iran denies any link to the Houthi attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia⁹.

What to watch

European Union defence ministers meet on Monday to discuss strengthening Aspides, the naval mission covering the Red Sea, with pressure building to send new ships and personnel to ensure safe passage through Bab el-Mandeb⁸. That decision is the clearest near-term signal of whether escorted transits become available again.

The second thing to watch is whether the Houthi assurance to the European Union holds while the group consolidates its hold on Perim Island and Mocha^6,10, and whether Riyadh’s call for a return to pre-war conditions at Hormuz attracts any support beyond the region^1,2.