The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen's port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced down the Red Sea coast to strategic islands, hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the Iran war to end after the U.S. midterm elections. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the Houthis had gained further leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern outlet of the Red Sea and one of the world's most important shipping routes, and had reached the islands of Hanish. If the Houthis were to gain control of the waterway on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, it could give their backer Iran a critical advantage in the war with the U.S., reducing supplies through a second major transit corridor and sending oil prices surging. It could also make it harder for Mr. Trump to find an exit from the war that he began with Israel on Feb. 28. Yemen's Houthi-run humanitarian operations co-ordination centre said in a statement that Red Sea navigation is safe for all shipping companies except for Saudi vessels. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran conflict effectively closed Hormuz.