‘Divine triumph’: Iran celebrates Houthis’ capture of Yemen’s Red Sea coast

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities and authorities media person praised the Houthis’ seizure of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which immoderate spot arsenic giving Tehran much leverage against the United States.

The Houthis, a governmental and equipped radical dominated by Zaidi Shia Muslims, person been warring against the Western-backed Yemeni authorities since capturing the capital, Sanaa, successful 2014.

The Houthis captured a bid of Red Sea coastal cities and islands this week, fundamentally giving them power implicit the captious Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Iran-allied group’s caller victories person been praised successful Iran, and are viewed by immoderate arsenic portion of Tehran’s wider warfare against the US, ongoing since February 28.

“The victories of Yemen’s Ansar Allah successful the occidental seashore is simply a communicative of a divine triumph and the effect of years of steadfastness successful the astir hard of battlefields,” Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), wrote connected X connected Saturday.

Amid the Houthis’ caller battlefield wins against the fragmented Saudi-backed forces, elder Iranian officials person cheered their Yemeni allies on.

The Houthis’ seizure of the larboard metropolis of Mocha connected Friday delivered a immense stroke for the Yemeni government, which present has nary nonstop entree to the Red Sea.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian parliament talker and main negotiator with Washington, reposted a remark made by slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei successful 2024, saying the “resistance” of the Houthis volition inevitably pb to victory.

“The brave Yemeni radical volition surely triumph, by support of God Almighty,” Ghalibaf added connected Thursday, successful Arabic.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said the authorities is blessed with the Houthi advances, and urged leaders successful the portion to prosecute “the rationality of liberation from dependency [from the US and the West], and unity nether the banner of Islam”.

The “grand victory” of the Houthis erstwhile again proved that “security is not a commodity that tin beryllium bought,” added Mohammad Mokhber, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

A antheral reads a section paper featuring quality of the escalating warring successful the country, successful Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2026. Yemen’s Houthi radical said navigation successful the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait remained harmless but for Saudi vessels, which it says stay taxable to a blockade, aft seizing the larboard metropolis of Mocha connected September 10 and making further gains astir the strategical strait the pursuing time [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

How could this payment Iran?

The Houthis began to attack several vessels successful the Red Sea they claimed were linked to Israel successful 2023, arsenic portion of their stated purpose to unit Israel to extremity the genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

This prompted bombing campaigns by the US, United Kingdom and Israel against Houthi positions successful Sanaa, Hodeidah and different areas.

Saudi Arabia, which joined the warfare against the Houthis successful 2015, has mostly stayed retired of the existent eruption successful warring successful Yemen.

After their caller victories, the Yemeni radical tin present workout much control implicit the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Houthis’ power of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and aggregate islands – including the land of Mayun, besides known arsenic Perim, sitting astir 3km (1.9 miles) disconnected Yemen’s mainland – provides the radical with close-range entree to the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

A video published connected Friday showed a Houthi commandant telling soldiers they volition nary longer request missiles and drones to endanger shipping successful the important waterway. They could simply presumption artillery on the seashore and occurrence successful each directions astatine ships, helium said.

The Houthis person not declared the strait closed, but the group’s subject spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said connected Friday that “maritime navigation is harmless for each companies but for Saudi vessels.”

Likewise, Iran’s partial power of the Strait of Hormuz connected the different broadside of the Arabian Peninsula has been a cardinal instrumentality of leverage for Tehran successful the warfare against the US.

The imaginable of closing down the strait could perchance beryllium utilized by Tehran successful aboriginal negotiations implicit ending the warfare with the US.

Iranian officials are expected to conscionable determination Arab representatives connected Monday for talks implicit however to facilitate shipping done the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran maintains remains closed.

They person said they favour a corporate determination attack connected transition done the strategical waterway.

Iran claims it has reached an knowing with Oman, which besides has territorial waters successful the strait.

A idiosyncratic watches Houthi subject spokesperson Yahya Saree delivering a televised statement, successful Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2026 [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

The US, which has continued its naval blockade of Iran’s ports and intensified sanctions connected Tehran, reportedly opposes the agreement.

Authorities successful Tehran person signalled determination volition beryllium nary talks with Washington nether the existent circumstances.

“As agelong arsenic the American broadside does not judge each of Iran’s conditions, dialog and dialog are of nary use,” Ebrahim Azizi, caput of the hardline Iranian parliament’s nationalist information commission, wrote connected X connected Saturday.

‘Lord of the straits’

At the commencement of the moving week successful Iran connected Saturday, hardline and IRGC-linked newspapers and media outlets celebrated the caller Houthi advances.

Keyhan, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Ali Khamenei, called the advances “the occurrence of resistance” and said they had “put the US and Israel successful a bind”.

The Quds newspaper, published by the influential Astan-e Quds Razavi successful Mashhad, called Iran and the Houthis “the lord of the straits”.

But adjacent though Tehran has repeatedly threatened that Bab al-Mandeb could beryllium further disrupted if the warfare continues, Iran’s diplomatic apparatus did not instantly nexus the Houthi advances with the existent combat against the US.

As has often been the case, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted that the Houthis marque their decisions autarkic of Tehran, with their ain interests astatine heart, including ending Saudi Arabia’s blockade connected Yemen.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry besides called for an extremity to the Saudi siege connected Houthi-controlled areas, an contiguous instrumentality to negotiations betwixt the radical and Riyadh, and respect for Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The ministry besides pushed backmost connected the thought that the Houthis enactment simply arsenic a proxy for Tehran.

“What is happening present successful Yemen is the effect of the Yemenis losing patience,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told authorities tv connected Friday night.

“It is not just to disregard the information that they were nether a cruel blockade for years, and concluded that the United Nations and determination mechanisms could not resoluteness the issues.”