Tehran [Iran], September 11 (ANI): Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday expressed support for 'Yemeni people' following the capture of the strategic Red Sea city of Mocha by Houthis, invoking past statements from slain Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Reacting to developments along the Red Sea coast, Ghalibaf wrote in a post on  X, 'The brave Yemeni people will certainly triumph, by the permission of God Almighty.'

Ghalibaf made the post while highlighting an earlier statement by slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which read, 'We hope, God willing, that the jihad of the people of #Yemen and their resistance and steps will continue until victory, by the permission of God Almighty.'

https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2098117230110130198

The Iranian leadership's remarks come as Yemen's Houthis seized the crucial Red Sea city of Mocha, expanding their control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most critical trade corridors, Al Jazeera reported.

The Iran-backed movement took control of Mocha on Thursday as forces aligned with the internationally recognised government withdrew from the area, Al Jazeera reported, citing sources. 

"The Yemeni government tried to put up a fight; they called reinforcements ... but the overwhelming military pressure of the Ansar Allah Houthis eventually [led to them taking] over the port and the city itself," Mawry reported for Al Jazeera.

The fall of the port city triggered immediate alarm from Yemen's leadership, which called for urgent global action to secure international shipping routes.

Following the advance, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, stated that developments surrounding Mocha port and the Bab al-Mandeb "are not a purely Yemeni affair," but a broader regional and international issue directly impacting global commerce, according to Al Jazeera.

Al-Alimi appealed directly to global powers to intervene "to end what the Houthis have done" at both the key waterway and the port.

Warning of broader geopolitical fallout, he emphasised that the Bab al-Mandeb "cannot become another Strait of Hormuz" and that "Yemen cannot become another Iran," calling for decisive international measures, Al Jazeera reported.

In a parallel diplomatic move, Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba dispatched a formal message to the United Nations Security Council urging a firm, unified international position regarding the escalating situation along Yemen's western coastline.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Yemen's Houthis act independently and take orders from no one, rejecting accusations made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the group operates as a proxy for Tehran.

In a post on X, Baghaei accused Washington of driving regional instability through its military presence and hegemonistic policies, emphasising that lasting peace in Yemen requires an end to external intervention.

His remarks come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (local time) implicated Iran in the latest wave of Houthi strikes targeting Saudi Arabia, labelling the Yemen-based rebel group as a proxy of Tehran as regional tensions escalate following widespread attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure. (ANI)