Summary Yemen: August 20, 2026. 

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Tanker approached by unknown vessel off Yemen, UKMTO says

The ⁠United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on ⁠Thursday it had received ⁠a report of an incident 136 nautical miles ‌east of Yemen’s Mukalla, where a tanker traveling west in the Gulf of ⁠Aden said ⁠it was approached by an unknown vessel.

UKMTO ⁠provided no ⁠further details ⁠and did not say whether the vessel or ‌its crew were safe.

 

   

IRGC says Saudi Arabia will not be able to contain Yemen’s Houthis

Iran’s IRGC has warned that Saudi Arabia will not be able to contain the Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen as they ramp up attacks on the kingdom.

“Saudi Arabia will certainly be unable to contain Yemen and Ansar Allah or remain safe from their attacks,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi told Defa Press, using another name for the Houthis.

“As we have seen in recent days, the more Saudi Arabia attacks, the more it is hit in return.”

 

   

Six armed people board vessel off Yemen, redirect it to Somalia: UKMTO

The ⁠United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says a vessel off Yemen has been boarded and controlled by six armed people and is being redirected to Somalia.

Earlier, the UKMTO said a tanker travelling west in the Gulf of ⁠Aden was approached by an unknown vessel ‌east of Yemen’s Mukalla.

 

   

Houthis claim attack on airport and Aramco facility in Saudi’s Najran city

Yemen’s Houthis say they have attacked “sensitive” Saudi targets at Najran airport and Aramco in Najran, according to Houthi-affiliated media outlet Al Masirah.

There has been no immediate Saudi confirmation.

 

   

Yemeni government forces carry out ‘operations’ against Houthis

The Yemeni government forces say they have carried out “81 qualitative military operations during the past 24 hours” against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Colonel Majid Abdullah al-Nuzaili, the spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, said the operations are “part of a series of retaliatory measures” against Houthi attacks.

He said the operations resulted in the “neutralisation of a number of field commanders” as well as the destruction of equipment and vehicles.

Al-Nuzaili said the Houthis have continued to attack the port of al-Markha (Mocha) and the al-Ardi anchorage in Bab al-Mandab, and on residential areas in Marib.

 

   

Yemen forms National Maritime Security Committee to safeguard Red Sea, Gulf of Aden shipping routes

Yemen is creating a National Maritime Security Committee to protect shipping routes and secure navigation in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, said Transport Minister, Mohsen Haidara Al-Omari.

The committee is to focus on protecting Yemen’s “coasts, ports, ships, securing navigation and updating legislation”, reported the SABA news agency.

Yemenis were killed and infrastructure was damaged when Houthi fighters attacked al-Makha port with missiles and drones.