Letters from an American
· collected 2026-09-11 · by Heather Cox Richardson
commentary
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants have taken control of the city and seaport of Mocha, as well as much of the Red Sea shoreline near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The Strait of Hormuz is already largely closed, and this development has led to a significant increase in oil prices, with a barrel now costing $109. The US has reportedly sent over 100 military advisors to Saudi Arabia as part of a new joint forces command to help the Saudis counter Houthi attacks. The disruption to global trade has also caused diesel fuel prices to skyrocket, reaching an all-time high of $6 per gallon in the US, which is expected to have a ripple effect on supply chain costs and household expenses.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Houthis captured the Red Sea port city of Mokha, near Bab al-Mandeb Strait, on September 10-11, 2024, after a week-long offensive. The seizure intensified fighting along Yemen’s western coast, with government forces retaliating by launching airstrikes and artillery strikes against Houthi positions. Government spokesperson Majed Abdullah al-Nazili confirmed the Houthis' control over Mokha and surrounding areas, including key roads. This move gives the Houthis strategic leverage over a crucial shipping route that handles about 25% of daily petroleum shipments worldwide. The capture also threatens to isolate Gulf oil-producing countries from their main shipping routes through Bab al-Mandeb Strait, similar to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen’s internationally recognized government is struggling to counter this advance, with civilians in Mokha fleeing to Aden for safety.
Written for “Houthis Gain Red Sea Control” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.
We woke up today to news that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have taken control of the city and seaport of Mocha and much of the shoreline of the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another chokepoint for world trade including trade in oil.
asserted
militants → wake → oil
With the Strait of Hormuz largely closed, Saudi Arabia has relied for seagoing transport on the Red Sea route that empties into the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
asserted
that → close → Sea
As Diana Roy of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote in July, the Red Sea is one of the most important routes for global shipping.
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Sea → write → shipping
It carries twelve to fifteen percent of the global maritime trade every year, worth about $1 trillion.
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It → carry → trade
The waterway extends about 1,400 miles from the Suez Canal—which connects it to the Mediterranean Sea—at the northern end to the Bab El-Mandeb strait in the south.
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which → extend → south
The Iran-backed Houthis are in a struggle against the Saudi Arabia–backed Yemeni government.
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Houthis → back → government
A fragile truce has been in place since 2022, but clashes between the two forces have escalated for weeks, and on Tuesday, September 8, Houthi attacks on Saudi targets started fires at oil facilities and wounded more than 70 people.
asserted
attacks → escalate → people
The Yemeni government told Reuters that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have guided the Houthi advance, and according to Zachary Cohen, Katie Bo Lillis, and Kylie Atwood of CNN, U.S. officials think that hundreds of IRGC officers are currently in Yemen working with the Houthis to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb.
uncertain
hundreds → tell → Mandeb
The journalists note that CNN has previously reported that in case U.S. negotiations were unsuccessful, Iran had planned an economic “nuclear option”: closing the Bab el-Mandeb.
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Iran → note → Mandeb
Cohen, Lillis, and Atwood reported this afternoon that more than 100 U.S. military advisors are in Saudi Arabia as part of a new joint forces command, providing the Saudis with intelligence and helping them find Houthi targets.
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them → report → targets
The sources who told the journalists about the joint effort emphasized that the U.S. routinely shares intelligence with the Saudis and that it is neither participating directly in the strikes nor providing operational support.
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it → tell → support
Still, U.S. airstrikes on the Houthis in 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others in Yemen in 2025.
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airstrikes → kill → 2025
The price of oil jumped to $109 a barrel, and U.S. gasoline rose to an average of about $4.28 a gallon.
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gasoline → jump → 4.28
GasBuddy said the national average price of diesel had hit $6.00 for the first time in history.
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price → say → history
GasBuddy issued a statement, saying: “While gasoline gets the headlines, diesel is the fuel that moves the economy, powering the freight trucks, trains, agricultural equipment, and construction machinery behind nearly everything Americans buy.
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Americans → issue → everything
That means its impact reaches far beyond the transportation sector.
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impact → mean → sector
As diesel climbs, higher supply chain costs work their way into the price of groceries, household goods, deliveries, and countless other products families rely on every day, even for households that never fuel a diesel vehicle.”
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that → climb → vehicle
GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, said the new record “will be a particularly painful one for the economy” and is “likely to reignite inflation up and down the supply chain.”
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record → say → chain
He continued: “I suggest Americans anticipate a costlier holiday season, as it appears diesel prices could continue climbing as geopolitical tensions continue to remain a main factor.
uncertain
tensions → continue → season
While all this was going on, tonight President Trump attended the second day of his Dallas rally to fire up his base before the midterm elections.
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Trump → go → elections
There, a video from the Republican National Committee intoned: “And on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker,’ so God gave us Trump.
asserted
God → intone → Trump
