India, Sept. 13 -- Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have opened a new front in the ongoing war in West Asia. Saudi Arabia has faced constant attacks from the Houthis this week, with the group not only capturing a key port on the Red Sea but also seizing strategic islands and making its biggest territorial gains in years along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These developments are likely to impact global oil supply.

The Houthis' expanding control represents a major strategic win for Iran and an a growing energy stress on countries whose oil dependency is on this route.

The Red Sea route was being used by Saudi Arabia after the Strait of Hormuz was blocked during the US-Iran war. Now, with the Houthis gaining control of the Red Sea route and the shi...