Saudis planning offensive against Houthis to reverse Red Sea gains

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

The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will be led by Yemeni forces on the ground, which are overseen by Riyadh, and supported by Saudi air strikes, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations.

While the US is already providing intelligence to support Riyadh’s operations in Yemen, and some regional and European nations are providing mainly defensive military aid to the kingdom, the Saudi allies aren’t expected to play a direct role in combat operations, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss security matters.

Saudi Arabia entered neighboring Yemen’s civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition in support of the internationally recognised government, which the Houthis had driven out of the capital Sanaa. A truce agreed between the warring parties in 2022 largely held until this year, when the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure in a spillover from the Iran war.

A key objective of the planned Saudi offensive, which hasn’t been previously reported, is aimed at reversing the rapid gains made by the Houthis last month when they advanced down the coast and seized control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, according to people with knowledge of the plans who include Gulf and Yemeni officials and Western diplomats.

The Saudis are considering two possible options for the assault, the Gulf and Yemeni officials say: Either a narrowly focused attack on the area around Bab el-Mandeb or a broader offensive that also includes other synchronized attacks on multiple fronts around Yemen, in the governorates of Al-Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al-Jawf.

More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized in the offensive, depending on the scale, the officials all say.

Spokespeople for the Saudi and Yemeni governments, the Houthi group, and the US military don’t immediately respond to requests for comment about the Saudi plans.