‘Divine triumph’: Iran celebrates Houthis’ capture of Yemen’s Red Sea coast

Iranian officials have praised the Houthis’ victories in Yemen but have not spoken about any planned closure of Bab al-Mandeb.

A person walks past the shuttered Saudi embassy with a graffitied wall depicting a Houthi fighter stopping a ship off the coast of Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2026 [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities and state media have praised the Houthis’ capture of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which some see as giving Tehran more leverage against the United States.

The Houthis, a political and armed group dominated by Zaidi Shia Muslims, have been fighting against the Western-backed Yemeni government since capturing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

The Houthis captured a series of Red Sea coastal cities and islands this week, essentially giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Iran-allied group’s recent victories have been praised in Iran, and are viewed by some as part of Tehran’s wider war against the US, ongoing since February 28.

“The victories of Yemen’s Ansar Allah in the western coast is a narrative of a divine triumph and the fruit of years of steadfastness in the most difficult of battlefields,” Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), wrote on X on Saturday.

Amid the Houthis’ recent battlefield wins against the fragmented Saudi-backed forces, senior Iranian officials have cheered their Yemeni allies on.

The Houthis’ capture of the port city of Mocha on Friday delivered a huge blow for the Yemeni government, which now has no direct access to the Red Sea.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator with Washington, reposted a comment made by slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2024, saying the “resistance” of the Houthis will inevitably lead to victory.

“The brave Yemeni people will certainly triumph, by permission of God Almighty,” Ghalibaf added on Thursday, in Arabic.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said the government is happy with the Houthi advances, and urged leaders in the region to pursue “the rationality of liberation from dependency [from the US and the West], and unity under the banner of Islam”.

The “grand victory” of the Houthis once again proved that “security is not a commodity that can be bought,” added Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

A man reads a local newspaper featuring news of the escalating fighting in the country, in Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2026. Yemen’s Houthi group said navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait remained safe except for Saudi vessels, which it says remain subject to a blockade, after seizing the port city of Mocha on September 10 and making further gains around the strategic strait the following day [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

How could this benefit Iran?

The Houthis began to attack several vessels in the Red Sea they claimed were linked to Israel in 2023, as part of their stated aim to pressure Israel to end the genocidal war on Gaza.

This prompted bombing campaigns by the US, United Kingdom and Israel against Houthi positions in Sanaa, Hodeidah and other areas.

Saudi Arabia, which joined the war against the Houthis in 2015, has largely stayed out of the current eruption in fighting in Yemen.

After their recent victories, the Yemeni group can now exercise more control over the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Houthis’ control of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and multiple islands – including the island of Mayun, also known as Perim, sitting about 3km (1.9 miles) off Yemen’s mainland – provides the group with close-range access to the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

A video published on Friday showed a Houthi commander telling soldiers they will no longer need missiles and drones to threaten shipping in the crucial waterway. They could simply position artillery along the coast and fire in all directions at ships, he said.

The Houthis have not declared the strait closed, but the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said on Friday that “maritime navigation is safe for all companies except for Saudi vessels.”

Likewise, Iran’s partial control of the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula has been a key tool of leverage for Tehran in the war against the US.

The prospect of closing down the strait could potentially be used by Tehran in future negotiations over ending the war with the US.

Iranian officials are expected to meet regional Arab representatives on Monday for talks over how to facilitate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran maintains remains closed.

They have said they favour a collective regional approach on passage through the strategic waterway.

Iran claims it has reached an understanding with Oman , which also has territorial waters in the strait.

A person watches Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree delivering a televised statement, in Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2026 [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

The US, which has continued its naval blockade of Iran’s ports and intensified sanctions on Tehran, reportedly opposes the agreement.

Authorities in Tehran have signalled there will be no talks with Washington under the current circumstances.

“As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran’s conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use,” Ebrahim Azizi, head of the hardline Iranian parliament’s national security commission, wrote on X on Saturday.

‘Lord of the straits’

At the start of the working week in Iran on Saturday, hardline and IRGC-linked newspapers and media outlets celebrated the recent Houthi advances.

Keyhan, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Ali Khamenei, called the advances “the miracle of resistance” and said they had “put the US and Israel in a bind”.

The Quds newspaper, published by the influential Astan-e Quds Razavi in Mashhad , called Iran and the Houthis “the lord of the straits”.

But even though Tehran has repeatedly threatened that Bab al-Mandeb could be further disrupted if the war continues, Iran’s diplomatic apparatus did not immediately link the Houthi advances with the current fight against the US.

As has often been the case, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted that the Houthis make their decisions independent of Tehran, with their own interests at heart, including ending Saudi Arabia’s blockade on Yemen.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also called for an end to the Saudi siege on Houthi-controlled areas, an immediate return to negotiations between the group and Riyadh, and respect for Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The ministry also pushed back on the idea that the Houthis act merely as a proxy for Tehran.

“What is happening now in Yemen is the result of the Yemenis losing patience,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state television on Friday night.

“It is not fair to ignore the fact that they were under a cruel blockade for years, and concluded that the United Nations and regional mechanisms could not resolve the issues.”

伊朗官员赞扬了胡塞武装在也门的胜利，但没有提及任何关闭曼德海峡的计划。

2026年9月11日，在也门萨那，一名行人走过关闭的沙特大使馆，大使馆外墙上涂鸦描绘了一名胡塞武装人员在也门海岸附近拦截一艘船只的场景。[Yahya Arhab/EPA]

伊朗德黑兰——伊朗当局和国家媒体称赞胡塞武装占领了也门红海沿岸地区，一些人认为这让德黑兰对美国有了更大的筹码。

胡塞武装是一个由宰德派什叶派穆斯林主导的政治和武装团体，自 2014 年占领首都萨那以来，一直在与西方支持的也门政府作战。

本周，胡塞武装占领了一系列红海沿岸城市和岛屿，实际上控制了至关重要的曼德海峡。

伊朗盟友组织最近取得的胜利在伊朗国内受到赞扬，一些人认为这是德黑兰自 2 月 28 日以来对美国发起的更广泛战争的一部分。

“也门安萨尔真主在西部海岸取得的胜利，是神圣胜利的象征，也是多年来在最艰难的战场上坚定不移的成果，”伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）发言人侯赛因·穆赫比周六在X网站上写道。

在胡塞武装最近与分裂的沙特支持的部队取得战场胜利之际，伊朗高级官员纷纷为他们的也门盟友加油鼓劲。

胡塞武装周五攻占港口城市摩卡，对也门政府造成了巨大打击，也门政府现在失去了直接通往红海的通道。

伊朗议会议长兼与华盛顿首席谈判代表穆罕默德·巴格尔·加利巴夫转发了被杀害的最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊在2024年发表的一条评论，称胡塞武装的“抵抗”必将带来胜利。

“在全能的真主的许可下，勇敢的也门人民必将取得胜利，”加利巴夫周四用阿拉伯语补充道。

伊朗第一副总统穆罕默德·礼萨·阿里夫表示，政府对胡塞武装取得的进展感到高兴，并敦促该地区领导人追求“摆脱（美国和西方的）依赖的理性，以及在伊斯兰旗帜下的团结”。

伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊的顾问穆罕默德·穆赫贝尔补充说，胡塞武装的“伟大胜利”再次证明“安全不是可以买到的商品”。

2026年9月11日，在也门首都萨那，一名男子正在阅读当地报纸，报纸报道了该国不断升级的战事。也门胡塞武装表示，在9月10日占领港口城市摩卡并在第二天于战略要道曼德海峡附近取得进一步进展后，红海和曼德海峡的航行仍然安全，但沙特阿拉伯船只除外，胡塞武装称沙特阿拉伯船只仍受到封锁。[Yahya Arhab/EPA]

这对伊朗有何好处？

2023年，胡塞武装开始袭击红海中几艘他们声称与以色列有关的船只，这是他们公开宣称要向以色列施压，迫使其结束对加沙的种族灭绝战争的一部分。

这促使美国、英国和以色列对萨那、荷台达和其他地区的胡塞武装阵地发动了轰炸行动。

沙特阿拉伯于 2015 年加入打击胡塞武装的战争，但基本上没有卷入也门目前爆发的冲突。

在取得最近的胜利后，也门武装组织现在可以对红海和曼德海峡施加更大的控制。

胡塞武装控制着也门红海沿岸和多个岛屿，包括距离也门大陆约 3 公里（1.9 英里）的马云岛（又名佩里姆岛），这使得该组织能够近距离进入曼德海峡。

周五发布的一段视频显示，一名胡塞武装指挥官告诉士兵，他们不再需要导弹和无人机来威胁这条关键水道上的船只。他说，他们只需在海岸线上部署火炮，就可以向各个方向的船只开火。

胡塞武装尚未宣布关闭海峡，但该组织的军事发言人叶海亚·萨里周五表示，“除沙特船只外，所有公司的海上航行都是安全的。”

同样，伊朗对阿拉伯半岛另一侧霍尔木兹海峡的部分控制，一直是德黑兰在与美国的战争中的重要筹码。

关闭海峡的前景可能会被德黑兰用于未来与美国就结束战争进行的谈判中。

预计伊朗官员将于周一与阿拉伯地区代表会面，商讨如何促进霍尔木兹海峡的航运，德黑兰方面坚称该海峡仍然关闭。

他们表示，他们赞成就通过这条战略水道的通行采取区域集体方式。

伊朗声称已与阿曼达成谅解，阿曼在该海峡也拥有领海。

2026年9月11日，在也门萨那，一名观众正在观看胡塞武装发言人叶海亚·萨里发表电视讲话。[Yahya Arhab/EPA]

据报道，美国反对这项协议，并继续对伊朗港口实施海上封锁，加大了对德黑兰的制裁力度。

德黑兰当局已表示，在目前情况下不会与华盛顿进行任何谈判。

“只要美方不接受伊朗提出的所有条件，对话和谈判就毫无用处，”伊朗强硬派议会国家安全委员会主席易卜拉欣·阿齐兹周六在X网站上写道。

“海峡之王”

周六是伊朗新一周工作的开始，强硬派和与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队有关联的报纸和媒体对胡塞武装最近的进展表示庆祝。

凯汉的总编辑是由阿里·哈梅内伊任命的，他称这些进展是“抵抗的奇迹”，并表示这些进展“让美国和以色列陷入了困境”。

由马什哈德颇具影响力的阿斯坦·库兹·拉扎维出版的《库兹报》称伊朗和胡塞武装为“海峡之王”。

尽管德黑兰一再威胁说，如果战争继续下去，曼德海峡可能会进一步遭到破坏，但伊朗的外交机构并没有立即将胡塞武装的推进与目前对抗美国的战争联系起来。

伊朗外交部一如既往地坚持认为，胡塞武装应该独立于德黑兰做出决定，以自身利益为重，包括结束沙特阿拉伯对也门的封锁。

伊朗外交部还呼吁沙特阿拉伯结束对胡塞武装控制区的围困，立即恢复胡塞武装与利雅得之间的谈判，并尊重也门的主权和领土完整。

该部还驳斥了胡塞武装仅仅是德黑兰代理人的说法。

“也门现在发生的一切，都是也门人民失去耐心的结果，”外交部发言人伊斯梅尔·巴盖伊周五晚间在国家电视台表示。

“忽视他们多年来遭受残酷封锁的事实是不公平的，而且他们也得出结论，联合国和区域机制无法解决这些问题。”