The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have made sweeping gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast after conducting a large-scale military operation aimed at controlling the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Because of these new territorial claims, Iran and its Houthi proxies can now threaten, if not entirely block, oil and other shipments through two key maritime chokepoints, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.