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Over the last week, the Houthis - an Iran-backed militant group in Yemen - have captured two strategic islands along the Red Sea coast, consolidating its control of a key international shipping route known as the Bab al-Mandab strait.

Saudi Arabia has relied on access to the strait for exporting it oil to customers in Asia. With the Strait of Hormuz already closed due to the Iran war, the Houthis’ control of this vital waterway threatens to deepen the global oil supply crisis.

Tristan Redman is joined by the Â鶹Éç’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner to unpack who the Houthis are, what they want, and how they have come to hold so much influence on the world’s economy.

Producers: Aron Keller and Lucy Pawle

Executive producer: Bridget Harney

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Houthi fighters in Sana'a, Yemen, 10 September 2026. Credit: EPA/ Shutterstock / Yahya Arhab