Exclusive: This small island off Yemen is now a strategic prize in the widening Iran war - CNN

Stepping on to the Yemeni island of Perim is to relive history. Its barren sand and rock moonscape feels for all the world like the land that time forgot. Its location, however, has put it at the heart of a very modern conflict. For Perim Island sits in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, a geopolitical pinch-point that’s taken on an outsized importance since US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz. To help keep global energy supplies flowing, and prices down, Saudi Arabia diverted its oil exports from Hormuz to the Red Sea. But now Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Iran’s most powerful regional proxy, have begun an offensive that could land them control of Perim – and with it the ability to prevent ships passing through this narrow gateway from the Red Sea.