Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, bolstering the Iranian-backed rebels’ ability to control a key maritime shipping route. Meanwhile, Iran says Saudi Arabia was behind Oman’s decision to postpone a meeting bringing together Iran with other regional countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz. In Iraq, two people died and more than 100 others were injured after an ammonia gas leak at a fertilizer plant in the country’s south. Houthi officials said Monday they had taken over the two islands just as Saudi-backed government forces tried to claw back territory from the rebels’ swift advances around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

Full report : Houthis seize 2 strategic Red Sea islands, and other Mideast developments.