Abe Hamadeh Condemns Houthis' Capture of Yemeni City of Mocha

Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) spoke out against the Iran-backed Houthis' capture of the Yemeni city of Mocha on social media, urging the United States to stand with Saudi Arabia and take action against the rebels.

The Fall of Mocha

Mocha is a port city in Yemen along the coast of the Red Sea, which the Houthis, backed by Iran, successfully seized on Thursday after fighting Yemeni government forces, who are backed by Saudi Arabia.

This matters because the Houthis now have a base much closer to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital shipping lane on the Red Sea, similar to the Strait of Hormuz on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Tarik Saleh, commander of the Saudi-backed National Resistance Forces, warned that if the Houthis capture Perim Island, which sits in the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint, they would effectively control the Strait itself.

Mocha, unfortunately, is an ideal launching point for that attack, which would plunge international shipping into further turmoil as the United States battles Iran for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Hamadeh's Response

In a statement shared on X, Rep. Hamadeh commented, "The seizure of the strategic port of Mocha in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemeni control is a direct assault on regional security, freedom of navigation, and the global economy."

"The Houthis are an armed extension of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he continued, adding, "The seizure of this port puts Saudi Arabia directly in harm's way, and we must stand with our allies in the region."

The Arizona congressman expressed that "the Houthis must face decisive consequences, and Tehran must understand that the era of attacking America and our allies through proxies is over. America First doesn't mean America alone."

Hamadeh vs the Houthis

Last February, Hamadeh introduced a resolution calling for the placement of sanctions on individuals connected to the Houthis, criticizing President Joe Biden's removal of the group from the list of foreign terrorist organizations that President Donald Trump restored.