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 BBC’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