DOMINANT ANGLE
Jakarta is deciphering a front that is closing in on two seas at once: the Houthists are locking down Bab el-Mandeb while Hormuz remains closed, and the war is spreading to the outskirts of Mecca.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Houthists captured the Hanish Islands (Grand and Little) in the Red Sea on Monday, September 14, after having already taken the port of Mokha and Mayyoun Island the previous week, closing the alternative to Hormuz.
- 02
The Houthists claimed, on September 14, a missile and drone strike on the Saudi King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait; Riyadh has not confirmed the alleged damage.
- 03
The coalition claims to have intercepted a drone targeting Mecca on September 15, which the Houthist political office denied on September 16 as a "worn-out lie".
ANALYSIS
Jakarta, September 16, 2026. Indonesia's CNN and Tempo describe a front that is closing in on two seas at once. According to Tempo, the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, announced on Monday, September 14, that they had captured the Hanish Islands, Grande and Petite, in the southern Red Sea — a seizure that adds to their capture of the port of Mokha and Mayyoun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait the previous week. This route had served as a fallback for Saudi Arabia since the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes, has been closed by Iran since the United States began bombing the Islamic Republic on February 28. Riyadh finds itself caught in a vice on its two maritime outlets.
On Saudi territory, CNN Indonesia reports that the Houthi rebels claimed on Monday, September 14, to have launched a strike of dozens of ballistic missiles and drones against the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, targeting hangars, radars, runways, and ammunition depots. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claims that Riyadh suffered "significant losses," an assertion that Saudi Arabia has not confirmed. The Saudi civil defense had issued an alert before announcing that "the danger had passed." The previous week, Saudi authorities had reported 73 civilians injured in strikes targeting Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran.
On Tuesday, September 15, the coalition claimed to have intercepted a drone targeting the outskirts of Mecca, the debris of which fell south of the city — which would be, according to spokesman Turki Al Maliki, the second Houthi attempt to target the holy city since 2017. Riyadh issued an emergency alert for Jeddah, Mecca, and Taif. But the Houthi political office, through the voice of Hezam Al Asad, denied on Wednesday, September 16, any strike against Mecca, calling the Saudi accusation a "worn-out and outdated lie that no one believes anymore."
In the background, Tempo relays a note from the FAO stating that Russian food supplies would remain unaffected by the blockade of Hormuz, which has been closed since February 28, and has brought the global trade in oil and liquefied gas to a near standstill, causing fuel prices to soar worldwide.