Category Archives: World

One of the world’s busiest shipping chokepoints has changed hands. The
Bab el-Mandeb takeover finished on Friday 12 September 2026, when Houthi fighters reached
Perim Island after Yemeni government forces withdrew. The rocky island splits the narrowest part of the
strait into two shipping lanes. Holding it, together with the Red Sea coastline and the Hanish Islands,
gives the group physical control of the gateway between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

What the Bab el-Mandeb takeover actually changed

Perim, also called Mayyun, is a volcanic island of a few dozen square kilometres. Its value is position,
not size. It sits inside the strait and divides the passage into two channels.

Before last week, Houthi forces could reach shipping from the Yemeni mainland. Now they sit on both sides
of the traffic and in the middle of it. Al Jazeera reported that the group holds Yemen’s entire Red Sea
coastline alongside Perim and the Hanish Islands.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said maritime navigation remains safe for all companies except
Saudi ships. The group had already banned those. That is a statement of intent from an interested party, not
a guarantee. Shipowners will price it accordingly.

The capture came without a fight. Yemeni government forces withdrew, and the island changed hands. That
detail matters for anyone assessing how durable the position is. Ground taken without combat can be lost the
same way.

Why this strait carries so much weight

Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Everything moving between
Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal passes it first. By Al Jazeera’s accounting the strait handles close
to 10 per cent of global trade and roughly 5 to 7 per cent of seaborne oil.

The alternative is the Cape of Good Hope. That route adds roughly ten to fourteen days on an Asia-Europe
voyage, plus the fuel to cover it. Carriers absorb some of that. They pass on the rest through surcharges.

Insurance is the faster-moving cost. War-risk premiums reprice within days of a change in control. They
reprice again after any incident. Owners often feel the insurance line before the freight line.

Schedules take the strain next. A longer route ties up more ships to run the same weekly service. Vessels
that are at sea cannot load elsewhere. Capacity tightens across unrelated trades, and rates rise on routes
that never touch the Red Sea.

Who feels the Bab el-Mandeb takeover first

Egypt feels it early. Suez Canal transit fees are a significant source of foreign currency, and traffic
that diverts around Africa never reaches the canal.

Saudi Arabia faces a narrower problem. With Saudi-linked vessels named as excluded, exports routed
through the Red Sea carry a specific risk that other flags do not. That follows the pressure already visible
after the shutdown of the
East-West pipeline. The advance began further north, as our report on
the capture of Mocha
set out four days earlier.

East African economies sit in a different position again. Djibouti and Eritrea face the strait directly.
Port revenue, transhipment volumes and regional bunkering all depend on traffic that now passes a contested
gate.

Importers further along the chain feel it last and least precisely. A consumer-goods buyer in Europe sees
a longer lead time and a higher landed cost. There is no single line item to point to. Our earlier
reports on the oil price shock hitting
Asian economies and the
displacement crisis inside Yemen trace the two ends of the same conflict.

The next test for Red Sea shipping

Three signals will show whether the situation settles or deteriorates. Watch transit counts published by
the Suez Canal Authority, because diversion shows up there before it shows up in retail prices. Watch
war-risk premium quotes, which move faster than official statements. And watch whether the stated exemption
for non-Saudi shipping holds in practice over the coming weeks.

Naval escort arrangements are the other variable. Any expansion or withdrawal of escort operations would
change the calculation for owners deciding between the strait and the Cape.

Questions about the strait

Where is Bab el-Mandeb?

It is the strait between Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

What is Perim Island?

A small volcanic island, also called Mayyun, that sits inside the strait and divides its narrowest part into two shipping lanes.

Is shipping through the strait now blocked?

No. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said navigation is safe for all companies except Saudi ships. That is the group’s own statement.

How much trade passes through?

Al Jazeera puts it near 10 per cent of global trade and roughly 5 to 7 per cent of seaborne oil shipments.

What is the alternative route?

Around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds roughly ten to fourteen days to an Asia-Europe voyage plus the extra fuel.

Where this reporting comes from

• NPR — Yemen’s Houthis capture a Red Sea island in threat to shipping. https://www.npr.org/2026/09/12/g-s1-143044/yemens-houthis-capture-red-sea-island
• Al Jazeera — Red Sea nations watch as Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb strait. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/9/13/red-sea-nations-watch-as-houthis-seize-bab-al-mandeb-strait
• Euronews — Houthis seize Yemeni island in Bab el-Mandeb, taking control of the strait. https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/12/houthis-seize-yemeni-island-in-bab-el-mandeb-taking-control-of-the-strait
• NBC News — Houthis capture Yemen’s Red Sea coastline on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/houthis-control-bab-el-mandeb-yemen-red-sea-saudi-iran-war-oil-rcna597186

The Defense Department’s inspector general has published the first formal accounting of what the
Iran war cost American forces. The Pentagon watchdog Iran report, released on Monday 14
September 2026, covers 28 February to 30 June. It tallies damage to bases across eight countries, the loss
of critical radar, and the strain on munitions stockpiles. It is the most detailed public picture of the
war’s early months so far.

What the Pentagon watchdog Iran report counted

Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at American bases, according to
the review. The affected countries span the Gulf and the wider region: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United
Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

Some losses mattered more than their replacement cost suggests. Missile defence radar installations were
among the assets destroyed in the war’s opening days. Radar is what turns an interceptor into a defence. Lose
the sensor and the shooter has nothing to aim at.

Why losing Bahrain reshaped the naval map

The destruction of the Navy’s regional hub in Bahrain forced an improvisation. With the hub gone, the
Navy struggled to establish adequate bases and support ports in the region.

Diego Garcia took up much of the load. The British Indian Ocean Territory atoll sits roughly 2,400 nautical
miles from the Gulf. Using it as a sea logistics hub stretched resupply cycles to between 14 and 18 days.
That is a long time for a ship waiting on parts, fuel or ordnance.

Distance is not a footnote in naval operations. It sets how often a ship can be on station, how quickly a
damaged vessel returns to service, and how much of the fleet is in transit rather than in position.

The munitions question the review reopens

The report acknowledges depletion of key munition stockpiles. That is a notable admission, because the
Pentagon has repeatedly pushed back against reporting of a shortage. Defence officials have said the
military has every weapon it needs to fight any conflict.

Both statements can be technically true at once. A stockpile can fall sharply and still exceed the level
planners consider adequate. The gap between the two positions is a judgement about how much margin is
enough, not a dispute about arithmetic. Readers should note that the Pentagon’s position here is the
Pentagon’s own account of its readiness.

What the review does not settle is replacement time. Interceptors and precision munitions have long
production lead times. A stockpile drawn down over four months can take years to rebuild.

Production capacity is the constraint, not budget. Advanced interceptors need specialised solid-rocket
motors and seeker components from a small supplier base. Adding a production line takes years of tooling and
qualification. Money released today shows up as delivered rounds well after the crisis that prompted it.

What the findings mean for eight host governments

The report names the countries where American bases took damage. That list is diplomatically sensitive.
Several of those governments have discussed the strikes only in general terms at home.

Basing arrangements rest on a bargain. The host provides territory and access. The guest provides
security and, usually, economic benefit. A public accounting of damage tests both halves of that bargain in
front of domestic audiences.

Expect the review to surface in parliamentary questions and local reporting across the Gulf. It gives
critics of the basing arrangements a document to cite, and it gives governments a reason to press for
clearer defensive commitments before the next round of negotiations.

What the accounting signals beyond the Gulf

The findings land while the region is still unsettled. Energy markets remain sensitive to anything that
touches Gulf infrastructure, as our reports on
the shutdown of the Saudi
East-West pipeline and the oil
price shock reaching Asian economies set out. The diplomatic track is unsettled too — see our coverage of
the Iran sanctions panel
vote.

For the eight host countries, the review is also a domestic political document. It puts numbers on damage
that governments in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have discussed only in general terms.

The questions the report leaves open

The review stops at 30 June. Anything after that date falls outside it, so the current state of the bases
is not covered. Expect follow-up reviews, and expect congressional committees to ask for the classified
annexes.

Three questions will shape the next round. How long will radar and air-defence replacement take? What
does the Bahrain hub’s loss mean for permanent basing decisions? And will the munitions finding change
procurement budgets in the next request to Congress?

Reader questions on the report

Who wrote the report?

The Defense Department’s inspector general, the Pentagon’s own internal watchdog, in a special report released on 14 September 2026.

What period does it cover?

From the start of the war on 28 February through 30 June 2026. Later events fall outside its scope.

Which countries had bases damaged?

Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

Does the Pentagon accept there is a munitions shortage?

The report acknowledges stockpile depletion. The Pentagon has separately said it has the weapons it needs for any conflict.

Why does Diego Garcia matter?

It became a sea logistics hub after the Bahrain naval hub was destroyed, stretching resupply cycles to 14 to 18 days.

Reporting sources

• CNN — Missile shortages, damage to US facilities: Pentagon watchdog issues first review of Iran war. https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/14/politics/iran-war-pentagon-watchdog-report
• Fortune — Pentagon admits Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings at US bases. https://fortune.com/2026/09/14/pentagon-damage-report-iran-war-hundreds-buildings-us-bases-aircraft/
• KSAT/AP — US watchdog tallies Iran war’s hit to weapons stockpiles, military bases and more. https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2026/09/14/us-watchdog-tallies-iran-wars-hit-to-weapons-stockpiles-military-bases-and-more/