Ansarullah advances pave way for talks
By Delaram Ahmadi
Staff writer
Ansarullah forces in Yemen have made significant advances along the country’s western coast over the past week, capturing the strategic port city of Mokha, located just north of Bab al-Mandab, as well as the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea and Mayun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait itself. The rapid advance is expected to have a significant impact on the regional balance of power. According to Sabah Zanganeh, a regional affairs expert, the development will affect many countries, particularly those countries with interests in the Red Sea, and push them to negotiation and compromise with Ansarullah.
IRAN DAILY: What do Ansarullah’s recent advances in Yemen, and its growing ability to influence strategic areas and routes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, mean for the region’s security dynamics?
ZANGENEH: Ansarullah’s recent advances in Yemen have effectively strengthened its position inside the country and enhanced its standing among the various forces operating in central and southern Yemen. Its arrival in other areas of western Yemen has also strengthened its control over both the ports and islands located in the southwestern part of the country, increasing its capabilities. It can now more easily control the movement of both oil tankers and commercial vessels, prevent some vessels from passing and allow others to transit. Therefore, the development will affect the region’s overall economic and political equations and will play a decisive role in commercial and economic interactions.
Given the importance of Bab al-Mandab for trade and energy transfers, what implications will the strengthening of Ansarullah’s position have for regional energy security and trade routes?
Strengthening Ansarullah’s position in western Yemen and the surrounding islands will increase its ability to control the movement of vessels, trade and oil exports. Each of the islands off western Yemen will serve as a strategic position from which the movement of vessels can be controlled with greater strength, and other countries as well as state and non-state forces, such as forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia or the UAE, will inevitably have to give Ansarullah a more prominent position in regional equations.
Naturally, Israel, the United States and Saudi Arabia itself will be affected by this expanded presence in western Yemen. This presence will cover both western Yemen and provinces such as Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, increasing Ansarullah’s ability to gain control over oil resources in these provinces as well as its ability to control and contain the ports of southern Yemen.
The alliances that Saudi Arabia had built in those areas, as well as the government that fled Sanaa and was established in Aden with Saudi backing, will all be affected by Ansarullah’s power and capabilities. It is not unlikely that some of these forces will either join Ansarullah directly or accept its superiority in managing the political and economic affairs of their areas.