Yemen is a country in West Asia, located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Known for its prolonged civil war between Houthi forces and the internationally recognized government, and its strategic position controlling the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Recently, Yemen has seen intensified Houthi offensives, renewed Saudi airstrikes, and expanding Iranian military involvement alongside cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. Last updated 2 days ago
Reuters Report: U.S. officials met secretly with Houthi representatives in Oman on Sunday. The group promised not to attack American vessels and said it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement signed last year.
One Yemeni source said the Houthis also stated they would not strike Israeli ships or merchant shipping. Saudi-owned vessels were the exception.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi in Beijing and called for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen at an early date.
Wang urged Washington and Tehran to act rationally and return to the Islamabad MoU brokered by Pakistan in June. Beijing also cautioned against the conflict spreading into Yemen and the Red Sea.
A Houthi military official denies Yemen poses any threat to Mecca or other Islamic holy cities, condemning what he called Saudi "falsification and deception" in claiming otherwise.
Saudi Arabia has turned to Israel for intelligence assistance against the Houthis, in talks mediated by U.S. CENTCOM, Walla reports citing Middle East diplomatic sources.
Houthi attacks have intensified over the past week, including a drone strike on Saudi oil pipelines and pumping facilities that partially shut the main line, plus an attack near a mosque close to the Yemen-Saudi border.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday vowed to respond "decisively" to attacks by Yemen's Houthis, AFP reports. The pledge followed a strike by the Tehran-backed group using ballistic missiles and drones that wounded 13 people inside the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia recruited hundreds of Syrian extremist fighters and moved them into Yemen through its territory to replicate the fall of Assad, Houthi sources claim to the Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar.
The sources allege Turkey helped route the fighters to the Ma'rib, al-Jawf, Aden and Hadramawt fronts, and that Syrian factions were trained in the Saudi areas of al-Wadiah and Sharora.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree: Saudi Arabia carried out 54 airstrikes across Yemen in the past 24 hours, flown by Typhoon and F-15 aircraft operating out of the Khamis Mushait and Taif bases.
In a separate message, Saree claimed the Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at Saudi warplanes over Saada province in northern Yemen, the group's stronghold, forcing them to turn back.
Saree warned the "aggression will not pass quietly."
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Yahya Saree claims Yemen used indigenous air defense missiles to engage two formations of Saudi Typhoon and F-15 fighter jets that had taken off from Khamis Mushait and Taif bases. The confrontation forced an immediate withdrawal from Saada's airspace.
Senior Yemeni officials warn of deep Iranian involvement behind the Houthi takeover of Bab al-Mandab: "It will be easy for them to obtain weapons. Their goal is to become a regional power."
UK PM Andy Burnham is considering whether to help Saudi Arabia counter Houthi attacks, per Bloomberg. Riyadh has requested a range of diplomatic and military support amid UK concerns over a worsening economic hit from the escalating conflict.
The asks include operational support to repel the Iran-backed group's push along Yemen's Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and help defending Saudi oil infrastructure from strikes.
A DF-15 ballistic missile of Chinese origin was reportedly discovered in Marib, Yemen. The Houthis are not known to operate the system and rely largely on Iranian-made missiles. Some people believe it may mark Saudi Arabia’s first combat use of the DF-15A, following Riyadh’s documented secret purchases of Chinese ballistic missiles such as the DF-3A and DF-21.
The Houthis have taken Mocha, Dhubab and Mayyun Island, giving them positions along both sides of the Bab al Mandeb. They have also deployed forces to Zuqar and the Hanish Islands farther north.
...
YEMEN AND SAUDI ARABIA: WHERE THINGS STAND
The Houthis have taken Mocha, Dhubab and Mayyun Island, giving them positions along both sides of the Bab al Mandeb. They have also deployed forces to Zuqar and the Hanish Islands farther north.
The Houthis now threaten the Red Sea route Saudi Arabia increasingly depends on after Iran closed Hormuz. Traffic through Bab al Mandeb has already fallen 46%, while oil prices have climbed above $100.
The rapid government withdrawal also left the Houthis with a major weapons haul. Footage shows them capturing U.S. supplied Oshkosh M ATVs, multiple mine resistant armored vehicles, weapons and ammunition previously delivered to Saudi backed Yemeni forces. The full inventory remains unclear.
Saudi Arabia is responding with a major air campaign. The Houthis claim more than 300 strikes across Yemen over 5 days, although Riyadh has not formally acknowledged the operation.
The Houthis are also striking inside Saudi Arabia. They claim missile and drone attacks against King Khalid Air Base and the Sharurah base. Saudi authorities confirmed that a projectile struck Al Tuwal, wounding 2 people and damaging a mosque and nearby buildings.
On the ground, Yemen’s Aden based government forces are trying to recover western Taiz and the Red Sea coast. Units that withdrew from Mocha are regrouping in Marib, but divided command remains a major problem. The government camp still operates through roughly 8 competing military structures.
Nearly 86,000 people have been displaced since the fighting intensified, with more than 2,000 crossing into Djibouti.
The frozen Yemen war is over. The Houthis now control the Red Sea coast, are striking Saudi territory and have captured U.S. supplied equipment while positioning themselves across the kingdom’s most important alternative oil route.
Houthi forces appear to have used an antitank guided missile to strike excavators, loaders and other heavy equipment operated by Yemen’s Aden based government forces.
Khaled al-Yamani, Yemen's former foreign minister and newly appointed advisor to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, tells Kan News that Israel has an important role to play in confronting the Houthi threat as part of a broad coal...
Khaled al-Yamani, Yemen's former foreign minister and newly appointed advisor to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, tells Kan News that Israel has an important role to play in confronting the Houthi threat as part of a broad coalition.
He calls to take the Yemeni file away from Saudi Arabia, blaming Riyadh's failed policy for the Houthi expansion in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait area. Al-Yamani accuses Saudi Arabia of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Houthis this year and of attacking the STC forces best suited to fight them.
The Houthis say they fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, a main southern hub for Saudi Arabia's air war.
Aircraft shelters, radars, runways and ammunition depots were hit, causing "major losses," according to the group. They framed it as a response to more than 300 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over five days and warned of larger attacks to come.
No Saudi assessment or independent evidence of damage has emerged.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarie: dozens of ballistic missiles and drones were launched at the Saudi Air Force base in Khamis Mushit, southwest of the kingdom. He said the strikes came in response to more than 300 Saudi attacks on Yemen over the past five days, and that operations will continue.
Saudi Arabia is reorganizing its forces in response to Houthi advances in Yemen, per Kann News. Riyadh is contending with attacks into its territory, the shutdown of a key oil pipeline, and a cool American response to its requests for military aid.
Houthi Bani Hashish tribes pledge readiness to march on Marib, the last major government stronghold in northern Yemen. Footage shows long columns of armed Toyota technicals massing in the desert.
Footage from Mokha, Yemen shows the equipment the Houthis captured during their western coast offensive. U.S.-made Oshkosh M-ATV vehicles, technicals, armored vehicles, and artillery were left intact by retreating forces.
