The Iranian-backed Houthi militants have seized a key island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, as the group expands its control along Yemen’s western coastline.

Officials with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government confirmed that Houthi forces reached Perim Island, also known as Mayyun, and seized the coastal city of Dhubab, which sits directly across from the island.