Former Pentagon Official Warns Houthis Are in US Military “Kill Box” After Red Sea Seizure

Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sept. 11, creating a new flashpoint at one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints. A former Pentagon official warned Sunday that the militants had placed themselves inside a potential “kill box.”

The takeover followed a month-long Houthi offensive along Yemen’s western coast. More than 1,500 soldiers were killed, while Yemen’s government was forced to concede what it described as a “painful” defeat, according to The Associated Press.

“By taking Perim, they have secured what could be described as the cork in the Red Sea bottle,” Morgan Murphy, a former Pentagon press secretary and retired Navy captain, told News Outlet.

“At the same time, they have put themselves in a kill box. They are nowhere close to matching the capabilities of the United States, and if the president decides to act, he could wipe them off that rock with relative ease,” Murphy warned.

Perim lies at the center of the narrow maritime passage, but Murphy said its position also leaves Houthi forces exposed to a concentrated military strike.

“Perim effectively divides that chokepoint in two, and the passage is only 18 miles wide at that location,” Murphy said.

The island has been a crucial maritime observation point for centuries. Murphy noted that French forces once sought to control it, while the British Empire maintained possession of Perim for more than 100 years.

Also known as Mayun, Perim is a barren volcanic island located about 20 miles from the Horn of Africa. Its position places it near Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which hosts one of the largest U.S. military installations on the African continent.

“We have extraordinary firepower in that region, and this is a small rock sitting in the middle of the strait,” Murphy said. “It is volcanic, has no freshwater and is uninhabitable.”

“There is virtually no vegetation. The Houthis have now concentrated their troops on that island. In Navy terms, that is what we would call a kill box,” he added.

Satellite images show a 1.85-kilometer, or 6,070-foot, runway on the island, along with three military hangars. Regional intelligence reports say the facilities were previously built by the United Arab Emirates.

“There’s a 6,000-foot airstrip on that island. I think that Emiratis built it,” Murphy said.

“It’s nice to have an airstrip, and especially a long runway, but we don’t know the condition of that runway. We don’t know how they could possibly use that runway, and they certainly don’t have the sophisticated air power that the United States and its allies have to project power from that runway.”

He added that the U.S. military holds overwhelming force options if commanders elect to target the island.

“We could wipe that rock into glass, just blast it into a smooth glass surface, put skates back on our feet, and skate all over it,” Murphy said.

“That’s why the Houthis have kind of played coy with the president, and they know that even if they fortify that rock they’re not going to be able to hold it in the face of the United States Navy.”

The developments come amid diplomatic maneuvering between Washington, Riyadh and the Houthis in recent days.

Sources confirmed to News Outlet that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called President Donald Trump twice Sept. 10 to urge him to authorize U.S. military strikes against Houthi positions.

Trump declined direct intervention, with U.S. officials noting the administration has no immediate plans for direct combat involvement but will continue offering intelligence assistance.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Sept. 12, Trump also indicated the Houthis had signaled a desire to avoid direct confrontation with American forces.

“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us. They let us know, they don’t want to fight with us… they don’t want us to go after them,” Trump said.

Murphy suggested, however, that Washington’s restraint should not be mistaken for inaction.

“I can’t speak for the president. But this administration has not shown a lack of resolve to use force,” Murphy said.

“I wouldn’t doubt at all if the president took steps to pound some of these folks into the sand if they continue to really disrupt the global energy supply.”

Yemeni government, regional and Iranian sources told Reuters the Houthi advance was sustained by Iranian weaponry and tactical direction from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, with U.S. officials estimating hundreds of IRGC officers remain active in Yemen.

Murphy noted that Tehran’s strategy appears designed to drive up global fuel prices by choking critical shipping lanes.

Comparing the conflict to historical naval power struggles, Murphy emphasized the strategic mismatch.

“We’re in a different era. They are nowhere near the sophistication of the world’s major powers. The Houthis are using a 19th-century playbook. They are not using 21st-century warfare,” he said.

“So, yes, they’ve caught a critical cork in the Red Sea bottle, but how they use it remains to be seen,” Murphy concluded.

“This is an example of why great powers really have to have a strong Navy. This is why Great Britain had a strong navy. This is why the United States has a strong navy, because there’s so many regional powers who want to try to bottle up shipping, whether it is in the Strait of Malacca, whether it is in the Strait of Hormuz, and here, in this case, in the Red Sea.”

“I think what we’re going to see in the next several days and weeks is a coordinated effort by the Trump administration to make sure our allies are on board in helping us keep these critical waterways open, free, and clear for freedom of navigation,” he said.