Saudi Arabia Planning Offensive Against Houthis to Retake Bab el-Mandeb, Reuters Reports

Full report

RIYADH, Oct 2 (Reuters) — Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, with options under consideration including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts, regional and Western officials told Reuters.

The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, would be led by Yemeni ground forces overseen by Riyadh and supported by Saudi airstrikes, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations, including Gulf and Yemeni officials and Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity.

While the United States is already providing intelligence to support Riyadh's operations in Yemen, and some regional and European nations are providing mainly defensive military aid, Saudi allies are not expected to play a direct role in combat operations, the sources said. A key objective of the planned offensive, not previously reported, is to reverse rapid Houthi gains last month, when the Houthis advanced down the coast and seized control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Two options are on the table, the officials said: a narrowly focused attack around Bab el-Mandeb, or a broader offensive with synchronized attacks on multiple fronts in the governorates of Al-Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al-Jawf. Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition backing the internationally recognized government. A 2022 truce largely held until this year, when the Houthis resumed missile and drone attacks on Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure amid spillover from the Iran war.

Spokespeople for Saudi Arabia, Yemen's government, the Houthis and the US military did not immediately respond to Reuters, so the operation remains a reported plan rather than an officially confirmed one.