RismadarVoice Reporters
October 6, 2026
Yemen’s internationally recognised government says its forces have recaptured the strategic port city of Mocha from the Houthis as a major counteroffensive intensifies around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Government forces announced the development on Monday after reporting advances across several fronts in western Yemen, including the recovery of key positions near the strategically important waterway.
The military said its forces had also regained control of Dhubab district and cut supply routes leading towards Bab al-Mandeb.
The battlefield claims could not immediately be independently verified.
The latest offensive follows major Houthi advances in September, when the group seized Mocha and territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The waterway is one of the world’s most important maritime routes, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serving as a major passage for international trade and energy shipments.
Saudi-backed forces are now seeking to push the Houthis away from the strait and recover other territories under their control.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government has also intensified air operations against Houthi positions as ground forces advance.
The renewed fighting comes as Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan move to activate collective defence measures under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
Officials from the three countries met in Riyadh and agreed to move towards the rapid deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia amid escalating Houthi threats and attacks.
The agreement, signed in August, provides that an attack against one member would be treated as an attack against all three.
Meanwhile, maritime security concerns have intensified around another critical regional shipping corridor, the Strait of Hormuz.
A tanker travelling through the strait was struck by an unidentified projectile on Monday, triggering a fire in its engine room.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the vessel’s crew was working to contain the blaze. No casualties or environmental damage had been reported at the time of the initial warning.
The incident came amid continuing attacks and threats involving commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, has hardened his position on negotiations with Washington, describing further talks with the United States as “meaningless.”
Pezeshkian accused Washington of carrying out attacks following previous rounds of negotiations and questioned whether further dialogue could produce an agreement.
The developments underline the growing regional dimensions of the conflicts involving Yemen, Iran and the United States, with renewed fighting threatening two of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors.
