Houthis Capture Hanish Archipelago, Gaining De-Facto Control of Bab el-Mandeb Strait

When Britain fortified Perim Island in 1869 to secure the just-opened Suez Canal, it illustrated a recurring lesson: whoever holds Bab el-Mandeb can influence world trade. The Houthis’ 2026 sweep echoes Egypt’s 1956 seizure of the canal and Iran’s 1984-88 Tanker War—moments when regional actors leveraged maritime chokepoints to offset conventional weakness. The episode also fits a post-1990 pattern in which non-state or quasi-state forces—from Somali pirates (2008-11) to Hezbollah’s 2006 missile attacks—exploit failing states to threaten global commons. By turning the Red Sea into a bargaining chip, the Houthis both pressure Saudi rivals and widen Iran’s strategic depth at a time Hormuz traffic is already unstable. Over a 100-year arc, this reminds policymakers that the physical geography of narrow sea lanes continues to trump technological change: control can shift from empires to insurgents, but the leverage remains, perpetually inviting external intervention and shaping the flow of energy, goods, and great-power attention.