• The Iran-backed Houthis have captured the strategic Red Sea city of Mocha, closing in on the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
• The UN Security Council has held a meeting in Yemen in light of the capture.
  The Yemeni government’s representative to the UN said the region is witnessing a new wave of escalation by the “Houthi terrorist” group against neighboring countries and civilians.
• Saudi Arabia’s UN representative, Abdulaziz al-Wasil, said his country will take “all necessary measures to deter Houthi attacks” and protect its security.
• Pakistan’s UN representative said the escalating conflict in Yemen will have “potentially far-reaching consequences” for the wider region and urged a swift diplomatic solution.

Iran links regional security to Yemen sovereignty and end of siege

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says security and stability in the region depend on respecting Yemen’s “independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” while calling for an end to the “illegal and inhumane siege.”

In a statement carried by semi-official Tasnim news agency, the ministry said that resolving issues related to Yemen cannot be achieved through the “continuation of the siege and military escalation,” emphasizing that the people of Yemen have the “right to live a dignified life, free from pressure, intimidation, and brutal siege”.

The ministry added that regional stability requires considering the “interests of the Islamic Ummah” especially in a situation where the West Asia region is facing “unprecedented mischief, injustice, and expansionism by the Zionist regime with the complicity of the United States”.

The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasized the necessity of immediately resuming dialogue based on the agreed-upon roadmap and the implementation of its provisions, and was prepared for any good efforts in this path, according to the foreign ministry statement.

Yemen faces greatest risk of large-scale war since 2022 truce, UN envoy warns

Hans Grundberg, the UN special representative for Yemen, was blunt as he reminded a meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) that it was just a month ago that he had warned of Yemen facing its greatest risk of large-scale war since the 2022 truce.

You could really see that the envoy was exacerbated by the fact that he has been warning about these scenarios playing out or potentially playing out for some time. And that is exactly what is happening now.

Grundberg said that according to the latest UN figures, there are now at least 11,400 Yemeni households that have been displaced since September 3.

And he told the council that he was not asking for another council resolution as of this moment; instead, he said, he is asking for unity.

He said the UNSC must unite behind any sort of action on Yemen, because the country cannot be allowed to slip from the Security Council’s agenda.

Trump administration ’empowering’ Saudi Arabia, Yemen to deal with conflict

An administration official has spoken to Al Jazeera, saying the administration is in continuous dialogue with the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

However, the official went on to say that the US role is in terms of empowering the governments of these countries to deal with the situation, to restore stability to the region.

So, from what that official is saying, it does appear that the US is taking very much a standoff position. It’s willing to advise, it’s willing to hold dialogue, but it does not appear to be willing to commit any resources.

Its focus remains the crisis with Iran and the deployment of forces there, despite the fact that yet another strait is being threatened by an ally of Iran.

Another area of conflict opening up along the Yemeni coast – that would be a huge problem for this administration as it nears these midterm elections.

Publicly, the administration says it is not worried. President Trump says he is not worried. He says American citizens will be content with the fact that Iran cannot get a nuclear bomb, as the president puts it, but that may be misleading, because the population of the United States, or many within that population, may well show their anger with the Trump administration in those midterm elections.

Houthi threat to Bab al-Mandeb strait could stretch US forces

Former US Ambassador to Algeria and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Henry Ensher says Yemen’s Houthis could take control of the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait and the US lacks the capacity to stop it from happening.

Ensher said that the Iran-backed group wants to at least threaten the important trade route for its own purposes and as a consequence of its alliance with Tehran. He said he was “surprised that this hasn’t happened” before.

“It may well be that the Iranians and the Houthis were just building their capabilities before they made their move,” he said.

Entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline now under Houthi control

The Houthis have swept through the last stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, completing an 18-hour offensive that gives them full control of the entire Red Sea coastline.

With government forces already gone from Mocha, Houthi fighters met little resistance moving south, taking Dhubab and then Murad, the final coastal town still in government hands, he reported. Naval forces followed up by pushing offshore, seizing Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and fighting their way into Zuqar Island, where clashes are ongoing.

Houthis have become a force to be reckoned with over past several years

The fact that the Houthis have managed to capture and retain control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha demonstrates that they have acquired “significant capabilities” in recent years, says Mohamad Elmasry, professor in the Media Studies program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

“I would say that this is a fighting force that is probably more advanced than the force that the Saudis were fighting against about a decade ago,” Elmasry said.

Not only do they have “very good fighters on the ground, but they’ve acquired weapons from the Iranians over the course of the past several years, they have air defence and they have an impressive arsenal of missiles and drones,” added Elmasry.

“I think [the advance] suggests that the Houthis have significant capabilities, and if anything, it’s the government forces that are retreating.”

The Houthis are taking advantage of the fact that the region is “distracted” with the US-Israel war on Iran to launch their offensive, said the professor.

While they receive significant backing from Iran, “they are not puppets of the Iranian government by any stretch. They have their own national cause, their own civil war independent of whatever happens in Iran,” said Elmasry.

Iran, Pakistan discuss Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir have discussed finding ways to restore diplomatic efforts to de-escalate Tehran’s conflict with the US on all fronts, a Pakistani security official told the Reuters news agency.

The two spoke by phone on Thursday, with the conversation focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran, the possibility of getting back to talks, and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the official said.

Earlier, we reported that the Houthis have swept through the last stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, completing an 18-hour offensive that gives them full control of the entire Red Sea coastline.

The Houthis have the strong hand now

From Yousef Mawry in Sana'a:

"You would expect that the internationally recognised Yemeni government would try to reinforce, to put an end to the bleeding, if you will, because we know that the Houthis are looking to take over more government territory from them. However, one has to wonder if the Houthis are going to restrain themselves.

The statements from the Houthis have indicated that they’re willing to pardon and give full immunity to all soldiers and government forces who lay down their arms. In fact, Mahdi al-Mashat, the president of the Supreme Political Council, issued a statement calling on the fighters of the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces to lay down their arms, and they will be given full immunity from prosecution.

It’s an indication of who’s really in control on the ground. We haven’t seen or heard any reports of government forces putting together a counter-military offensive to try to drive the Houths out from the positions that they have taken.

We’ll have to wait and see how this is going to look in the coming hours, perhaps the coming days. But the Houthis have the strong hand now. They have the leverage, and they have control of Bab al-Mandab and the shipping traffic going through the Red Sea."

Saudi air strikes target Mocha airport: Houthi-affiliated media reports

Saudi military forces have carried out two air strikes on Yemen’s Mocha airport, reports the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah channel.

There has been a complete withdrawal of the military forces of the Yemeni government

From Yousef Mawry in Sana'a:

"We have sources on the ground and reports telling us that the Houthis have fully secured Mocha and also fully secured the western Red Sea coast all the way to Bab al-Mandeb. Nothing has yet been officially announced.

What we know for sure is that there’s been a complete withdrawal of the military forces of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government. After the battle of Al-Waziyah, which took place west of Taiz, leading to the fall of Mocha, and after the Houthis captured the Khalid ibn al-Walid military base, it wasn’t much of a fight for the takeover of Mocha, because military forces just abandoned their position. And after Ansarallah Houthi forces took over Mocha, they started to advance and expand further south towards Bab al-Mandeb."

Houthis reach Perim Island: Yemeni government sources

Houthi fighters have now advanced to Yemen’s Perim island, located at the mouth of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Reuters cites four Yemeni government sources as saying.

The advance would tighten the Houthis’ control over Bab al-Mandeb, one ⁠of the world’s vital shipping routes.

At least 46,000 displaced by Yemen fighting since last week: UN’s IOM

Renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced at least 46,000 people since last week, a figure that is “rising by the hour,” warns the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope in a statement. “As fighting spreads, reaching people with lifesaving assistance is becoming harder. We urgently need safe, unimpeded access.”

Saudi has long list of targets if they seek to hit Houthi positions

Saudi Arabia has conducted a number of air strikes in the city of Mocha against Houthi positions, and also against the airport itself, the Al Mocha airport, which is under the control of the Houthis. Saudi Arabia carried out a number of air strikes. So it seems that although the Houthis have taken full control of the city, some type of counteroffensive from Yemeni military forces are to expect, coupled with Saudi air strikes.

But there’s a long list of targets for Saudi Arabia if they seek to hit Houthi positions in Al Mocha. Some of the areas that have fallen under their control includes the Mocha airport and camp, that’s the headquarters of the general command. There’s the Al-Amari camp, there’s naval bases, Abu Musa, Ashari camp, and the Khalid ibn al-Walid military base, the biggest military base in that entire region. All of this is within the vicinity of the Red Sea coastline.

So the Houthis have taken various sites, including the Al-Khokha camp, and also Dhubab, south of Al Mocha. That was the last position to fall, military forces withdrew from it right before the fall of the city of Al Mocha.

Iranian VP praises ‘victories of heroic nation of Yemen’

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has welcomed the “victories of the heroic nation of Yemen,” after Houthi fighters expanded control along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline.

“As in the past, our message to the region’s rulers is a call for rationality, liberation from dependency and unity under the banner of Islam,” he said in a post on X.

Belgium FM condemns Houthi attacks, calling them a ‘dangerous escalation’

Belgium’s foreign minister has condemned the latest Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, calling them a “dangerous escalation” in a region already under heavy strain.

Maxime Prevot posted on X that the Houthis were escalating the conflict “with continued support from Iran,” adding that Tehran could not call for de-escalation while enabling forces that attack their neighbors and threaten one of the world’s most vital shipping routes.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait was “not a bargaining chip,” warning that disrupting the waterway risked global supply chains, higher prices and shortages of food, fuel and other essential goods, with the most vulnerable paying the highest price.

Prevot called for the escalation to stop, for freedom of navigation to be protected, and for Iran to use its influence for de-escalation rather than confrontation, saying diplomacy must prevail before another front spirals out of control.

Advisor to Iran’s supreme leader praises ‘resounding victory’ of Houthis

Mohammad Mokhber, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, is the latest Iranian official to praise the rapid Houthi advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline.

“Congratulations on this resounding victory, Ansar Allah,” Mokhber wrote in a post on X, referring to the Houthis by their formal name.

“Iran’s might in the Strait of Hormuz and the homegrown resolve of the resistance have driven the US and its allies into a tactical and strategic impasse,” he added.

Yemeni army divisions will make it difficult to counter Houthis

It’s going to be very hard for government forces to defend what’s left, especially with reports coming in that the National Guard, who are stationed in Al Dhale, are also beginning to withdraw from their military positions.

The Yemeni army is divided, in a way, because it consists of remnants of the previous Ali Abdullah Saleh regime, who were mainly stationed in Mocha; it consists of some of the Islah party, who make up the majority of the internationally recognized Yemeni government and also some Southern Transitional Council members. There’s not much unity within the government forces themselves, so it’s going to be hard to put together a unified front to counter [the Houthis], to put together a counteroffensive to regain and recover some of the strategic territories they have lost in the past couple of days.

But the Saudi strikes are going to continue to target Ansarallah Houthi positions, mainly in Mocha and along the Red Sea western coastline.

Missiles target port in Yemen’s Mocha: Local official

Six missiles have targeted the port in Yemen’s Red Sea city of Mocha, AFP cites a local official as saying.

The official did not specify the source of the missiles.

Earlier on Friday, Houthi-affiliated media said Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes on the airport in Mocha, which is now under Houthi control.

Plans for inquiry into how Yemeni government forces collapsed so easily

From Yousef Mawry in Sana'a:

"There’s currently a division within the internationally recognised Yemeni government – we’re talking about military sources saying they’re going to form a military committee to investigate the withdrawal from the city of Mocha. So it seems like they’re calling into question the loyalty of some of the brigades and divisions that were stationed in Mocha.

Let’s not forget Mocha was under the control of Tariq Saleh, the nephew of the former ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has had his own differences with the internationally recognised Yemeni government. Although he’s considered part of the Yemeni government, there has still been a kind of competition between both sides over control of some of the southern areas considered to be under the Yemeni government’s control.

We’ll have to wait and see what we hear in the coming hours. In the next hour, the armed forces spokesperson for the Houthis is going to give a statement and announce a major military operation. So we have to wait to hear what that’s going to be about. Many suspect this could be an attack targeting the Saudi oil pipeline that stretches from the eastern fields of Saudi Arabia to the port of Yanbu."

Houthi victory ‘not surprising’ due to weakness of Saudi-backed government forces

The Houthis’ rapid takeover of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast down to Perim Island in the middle of Bab al-Mandeb was not surprising, according to Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program, Chatham House.

He highlighted poor coordination and weak armament among government forces, despite a year-long Saudi-backed effort to consolidate them into an effective fighting force

Al-Muslimi added that the Houthis had “built up their military power very well” over the past five years, a shift he said was “obscured due to the truce”.

Iran “gets a lot by having indirect control over Bab al-Mandeb”, alongside its existing leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that coordination likely served “both the Houthis’ domestic reasons” and Iran’s own negotiating position with the US and the world “on other files, not just Yemen”.

On whether the group would push towards Aden, Al-Muslimi said: “I think they will consider this enough for now and just let that settle.

“It also gives them leverage at one of the world’s most important choke points, and it gives them enough projection of power towards Saudi Arabia, towards global trade and towards their opponents.”

Freedom of navigation in Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb ‘safe and orderly’: Houthi official to UK-based media outlet

Hazem al-Assad, a member of the Houthis’ politburo, has said there should be “no cause for alarm” over shipping after the group made rapid advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline.

“Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb are safe and orderly,” al-Assad told the UK-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet.

Houthis declare Red Sea shipping safe except for Saudi vessels

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said maritime navigation in the Red Sea is safe, except for Saudi ships.He pledged to escalate military action against Saudi forces until the blockade on Yemen ends. The statement came amid reports of Houthi advances around the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Military spokesperson for the Houthis Yahya Saree hails ‘successful’ offensive

Yemen’s Houthi-run armed forces say they launched a broad military operation against Saudi-backed mobilization forces on the country’s western coast, claiming to have seized territory across six districts and inflicted heavy losses.

In a statement posted on X by military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the armed forces said the operation, initially launched on September 3, aimed to expel Saudi-aligned forces from areas of Taiz and Hodeidah provinces and to end what they described as a years-long siege and aggression against Yemen.

The statement said the operation resulted in the expulsion of Saudi-backed forces from six districts covering a total area of 5,400 square kilometers, and the striking of seven military brigades comprising 38 brigades, with hundreds killed, captured or wounded. It also claimed the liberation of Yemeni prisoners held by Saudi-aligned forces and the execution of 32 air defence operations, including the downing of nine aircraft.

The statement said maritime navigation remained safe for all companies except Saudi ships, which it said were banned, and reiterated that the armed forces would continue what it called an equation of siege with siege and escalation with escalation until the aggression ceased and the siege on Yemen was lifted.

Houthis have united front while their opponents lack a clear objective

Over the past 48 hours, it has become clear that the Houthis are united and operating with a clear objective, whereas their opponents are highly fragmented, says Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London.

“We’ve been under an umbrella of narratives being pushed, particularly by the Emiratis, but also partially by the Saudis, that suggest there is a very strong, united, cohesive front line against the Houthis being built,” Krieg said.

The reality is very different as “what we are seeing now is a picture of a highly fragmented anti-Houthi front, where different patrons have bought their loyalties through money, where people and also militias have been assembled to basically compete over domestic constituencies” in southern Yemen “without actually ever focusing on the Houthis in the north,” said Krieg.

Over the past decade, the UAE has been “building its own networks in the south at the expense of Saudi Arabia, which has led to a fragmented sort of front that has now led to polarization and clearly has shown that they… lack a clear vision”.

The Houthis, on the other hand, are “extremely swift, very cohesive, with a very clear objective and unfortunately have been able to exploit the weakness and vulnerability of the southern forces,” said Krieg.

Yemen’s humanitarian crisis ‘set to deteriorate sharply’

Yemen’s humanitarian situation is set to deteriorate sharply as a result of the Houthi offensive, building on what was already one of the world’s worst crises, according to Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program, Chatham House.

“Yemen was already going through one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world,” Al-Muslimi said. “It got terribly worse after the Houthis cracked down on aid organisations in northern Yemen. But the war continued despite the fragile truce, and what that meant was the destruction of what remained of the economy, with millions of families left without income.”

He warned that the latest escalation “will create two new crises”, one being further internal displacement, noting that “we’ve already seen more than 10,000 families displaced in the last week alone,” and the other being rising prices for goods inside Yemen.

“Since this is [happening in] a maritime [trade] corridor, it will, for sure, drive further violence inside Yemen, but also from outside Yemen,” Al-Muslimi said

“So yes, the Yemeni population will continue to suffer, first and foremost, more than anyone else, inside or outside the country.”

Iranian praise for Houthi Red Sea victory, Yemen’s defiance against ‘imperial’ forces hailed

The head of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission is the latest Iranian official to praise Yemen’s Houthis for taking control of the entire Red Sea coastline.

“In an era where some regional rulers trade sovereignty for empty promises, Yemen stands alone against imperial hegemony on behalf of the entire region,” Ebrahim Azizi posted on X.

He described Yemen as “unbowed”, despite facing a Saudi-imposed blockade for a decade.

“Yemen’s defiance serves as proof that sovereignty is not for sale.”

Azizi warned that Iran’s allies will respond, saying, “Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iraqi Resistance will unveil their decisive response at the appointed hour as well.”

Iranian trade official takes swipe at Saudi Arabia over ‘dependence’ on US military support

The president of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry has taken a swipe at Saudi Arabia, criticizing the kingdom for being heavily reliant on the US for its security.

“Yemen, a country with a per capita income of about $800, has been embroiled in civil war for the past 60 years—Saudi Arabia, the very one that’s supposed to be the Apple of the region!” Majidreza Hariri posted on X.

“Yesterday, Prince bin Salman called Trump twice, begging for someone to come to his aid! Those who believe you can live dependent on America should go read up and see what Trump said in response to the request for support!”

Hariri was referring to a report by the US-based news outlet Axios. It says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) called Trump twice on Thursday asking him to intervene to prevent Houthi advances in Yemen. Trump reportedly denied MBS’s requests and US officials reportedly insist that Washington has no plans to get involved.

Pakistan faces growing pressure to honor Saudi defence commitments, while keeping diplomatic channel to Iran open

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had two phone calls on Thursday night: one with Pakistan’s chief of defence forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the other with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

The calls capped the most dramatic week yet in the Houthi-Saudi war.

Houthi drones and missiles wounded 73 people and set oil facilities ablaze in four Saudi cities on Tuesday, among the heaviest strikes of the war, according to the Saudi-led coalition.

Iran-backed Houthi fighters reached the coastal town of Mocha at dawn on Thursday and pushed offshore to seize nearby islands. By Friday morning, they had grabbed control of all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Houthis block Saudi shipping through Bab al-Mandeb, demand an end to Yemen blockade

A Houthi spokesman says they will allow international vessels to pass through Bab al-Mandeb – with the exception of Saudi shipping which is being blocked.

Yahya Saree said Saudi maritime traffic will only be permitted to pass through Bab al-Mandeb and the Red Sea coast now controlled by the Houthis if Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade on Yemen.

In a statement, Saree said that international maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb will not be impacted unless it is tied or related to Saudi, which backs government forces in Yemen.

Shipping is Saudi Arabia’s main concern, and a key reason for their air strikes on Houthi positions in the city of Mocha. Reports indicated that Saudi Arabia has conducted air strikes with fighter jets targeting the airport in the city, which has also been seized by the Houthis.

The Houthis now fully control the western Red Sea coast as well as the strategic islands of Hanish and Mayyun north of Bab al-Mandeb, which can serve as a security check point in the waterway by the Houthis. This also means they have full control of international trade passing through Bab al-Mandeb. The Houthis could also stop Saudi ships from approaching the Arabian Sea, as they have ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles that are able to reach as far as the Indian Ocean.

US CENTCOM commander in Saudi Arabia for meetings on Houthi advances

The commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, is in Saudi Arabia for meetings and coordination regarding the recent Houthi advances in Yemen.

What happens next in Yemen ‘will depend on what is decided in Riyadh’

The Yemeni government’s response to the Houthi military gains is likely to be bureaucratic rather than military in the first instance, according to former British ambassador to Yemen Nicholas Hopton.

“Ultimately, what happens next will depend on what is decided in Riyadh,” Hopton said. “It is in everyone’s interest at this point that a path towards re-engagement of negotiation rather than escalation is pursued.”

Hopton argued that if the response becomes more internationalized and the United States, or European allies of Saudi Arabia, get involved in any military action against the Houthis “then I would expect that the Houthis would expand their targeting to include those interests,” he said.

“I think the US will be very conscious that if they get drawn into this Saudi-Houthi conflict and it escalates, and the US is actually part of the kinetic activity targeting the Houthis, then that will play into their conflict with Iran directly,” Hopton added.

Yemeni Armed Forces announce strikes near key city of Mocha, taken by Houthis yesterday

The Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman says its air force is striking targets on the Taiz-Mocha road and has urged civilians to avoid the area.

The internationally recognised government’s armed forces designated the area a military zone yesterday, when the Houthis seized the port city of Mocha, granting them control of the country’s Red Sea coastline.

UN: Yemen’s Houthis seized humanitarian facility in Mocha

A senior United Nations spokesperson says that Yemen’s Houthis seized a humanitarian facility in the recently captured Red Sea port city of Mocha.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said in a press briefing Friday that the site housed staff from UN agencies but that all personnel are safe and had previously departed.

No UN employees remain in Mocha, Haq added, after 8 Yemeni staff members who were in the area relocated from Mocha to nearby Aden, Turbah and Taiz ahead of the Iran-allied group’s swift battlefield advance.

“Humanitarian personnel, premises and assets must be respected and protected at all times,” he said.

‘The Houthis intend to continue advancing’

 From Yousef Mawry in Sana'a

"They [the Yemeni government] certainly did not want to lose such a strategic location; a region that has repelled and countered the Houthis since 2017.

We’re talking about a full withdrawal of Yemeni forces from Mocha city and south of it, including the city of Dhubab, where the Houthis have taken control of the airbase and the city. They’ve also seized more territory further south, leading toward the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The Houthis have been posting photos and videos on social media proving that they have full control of Bab al-Mandeb and even further south from there.

They intend to continue advancing until they are brought to a halt, but there doesn’t seem to be any player on the ground who is willing to prevent the Houthis from expanding further south.

However, we have a statement from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government’s armed forces spokesperson. He says that the bombing campaign has begun in what he called the “kill box”. Those are the areas that have fallen to the Houthis from Mocha to Bab al-Mandeb."

Yemen’s STC official says warned western diplomats of need for comprehensive strategy against Houthis

The foreign affairs representative of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) Amr al-Bidh says that he warned Western diplomats of the need for a comprehensive national, regional and international strategy to defeat the Houthis.

Occasional strikes were not enough to stave off the Houthis, who made vast territorial gains along the Red Sea coast of Yemen in the past days, al-Bidh told UK newspaper The Guardian.

“The Houthis’ presence in the [Bab al-Mandeb] strait means they will be able to control the waterways without needing to use sophisticated weapons that as a result they can now use elsewhere,” the Guardian quoted the STC senior official as saying.

Al-Bidh also accused Saudi Arabia of “betrayal of promises” that made southern Yemenis unwilling to leave their home territories to fight the Houthis in the north.”

The Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, removed the separatist STC from power in southern strongholds earlier in 2026.

Anthropic says Yemen actors using Claude LLM to develop advanced weaponry systems

AI company Anthropic has identified what they are describing, as a sell of threat actors in Northern Yemen users working on three separate weapons development programs including a guided rocket that uses commercially available technology, a multi-stage ballistic missile with a range of upwards of 2,000 km, and a missile system that included a “hypersonic glide vehicle variant”.

According to Anthropic, these users were using a Claude LLM, language learning model in place of software engineers to develop guidance navigation and control software. This again, essentially is the type of software that is used to steer a projectile once it has been launched, once it’s on it’s way towards a target. They were using Claude to do the research, to carry out the actual coding and then to go back and do the troubleshooting to find out what went wrong.

Anthropic is not saying that they are monitoring all Claude users across Yemen. Instead the company has tasked their threat intelligence team to investigate cases where they suspect misuse of their LLM.

Anthropic says Yemen is not an isolated incident. They’ve uncovered six different conventional weapons cases involving actors in Yemen, China and Russia that worked on guided weapons, autonomous drone swarms as well as targeting systems. This case shows how AI can be used to reduce workload to essentially replace highly specialized teams.

Saudi Civil Defence says danger has passed in Khamis Mushait

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence says the danger has passed in Khamis Mushait Governorate, after an earlier alert warned residents of a potential threat.

The National Early Warning Platform had issued a warning for the governorate, urging people to follow official safety instructions.

In a post on X, Civil Defence later said the danger had passed, but advised residents to continue following its instructions and avoid gathering or filming.

Khamis Mushait Governorate is located northwest of Yemen's capital Sana'a but on the Saudi side of the border, and not far from the Red Sea.

Trilateral defense pact can’t pull Saudis out of Yemen quagmire with Iran-backed Houthis, expert says

The newly inked Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey security partnership may provide political reassurance to the signatories, but it does not automatically create a coalition willing to enter a broader US-Israel-Iran confrontation, says economist Javed Hassan.

This is because “Iran can obtain disproportionate leverage at relatively low cost because supporting the Houthis does not require Tehran to control the sea lanes or defeat Saudi Arabia and its allies conventionally”, Hassan says.

“It only requires the attacks to remain credible enough that insurers, ship-owners and traders begin to ration their own exposure. This is coercion through ambiguity: a threat that need not achieve full closure to alter behaviour”, he says.

On the other hand, Hassan argues, Saudi Arabia, and by extension its mutual defense allies, are consequently placed in a difficult position because “escalation risks widening the regional conflict, whereas restraint allows a non-state actor [such as the Houthis] to impose costs on critical energy infrastructure”.

Houthi attacks will convert energy supply shock into inflationary shock

Economist Javed Hassan, author of the Creatively-Destruct Substack, says the significance of the Houthi advances should not be measured only by the number of barrels of crude oil physically removed from the market, but also the damage these attacks do to optionality.

“These include alternative routes to move oil and gas, spare capacity, and logistical workarounds that allow energy markets to absorb disruption”, Hassan says, adding that a strike on Saudi infrastructure, particularly the East–West pipeline and the Yanbu export system, threatens the very mechanism designed to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.

“If that workaround is impaired, the [energy] market is no longer pricing a temporary interruption in one lane. It is pricing the loss of flexibility across the system. That is the point at which a geopolitical risk premium can become a physical constraint,” he said.

“War-risk insurance and charter rates can rise before cargoes are formally interrupted, and the resulting pressure extends beyond oil into container shipping, dry bulk, and the wider cost of traded goods. The technical supply shock from Houthi attacks therefore becomes an inflationary shock through several commodities at once.”

 

Yemeni government faces major fight to retake Bab al-Mandeb

The counteroffensive is being focused on retaking Mocha, the district of Dhubab south of the city and Bab al-Mandeb further south, alongside Saudi air strikes across areas under the control of the Houthis.

The Houthis were expecting there to be a counteroffensive, a counterattack to try to recapture these areas. They have specialized in what can be described as a “stealth warfare” strategy, where they are able to take over areas and hide their weapons, launching pads and air defence radars.

That has been the problem the US and Israel have had in trying to destroy the Houthis’ military capabilities and ballistic missile launching capabilities. Both failed in their military offensives against the group.

But for Saudi Arabia or the Yemeni government to be successful, they have to have a military presence on the ground, and that is what they do not currently have.

A major military offensive would be needed to regain the territories lost, specifically Bab al-Mandeb and the strategic city of Mocha, which gives the Houthis full access to Bab al-Mandeb and international shipping traffic through the Red Sea.

Saudi Civil Defense issues warning in Taif over potential danger

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense says the National Early Warning Platform has issued an alert in Taif Governorate over a potential danger.

In a post on X, the authority urged residents to follow official safety instructions.