Saudi Arabia Prepares Ground Offensive Against Houthis in Yemen

Saudi Arabia is redeploying troops away from eastern Yemen, a move widely seen as preparation for a ground offensive against Yemen's Houthi rebels. At the same time, Riyadh is assembling a naval coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait from rebel attacks.

According to The Guardian, Saudi Arabia has already secured a joint statement backing the creation of such a coalition from 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti. Riyadh has also asked the United States and several European nations — Germany, France, the UK and Italy — to help safeguard maritime routes, including through the EU's Aspides operation, which is already active in the Red Sea.

The Houthis claim that last week they struck "sensitive" oil transport infrastructure in Saudi Arabia — targeting routes that link fields in the Eastern Province to export terminals at the Red Sea ports of Yanbu and Jeddah. Should the rebels succeed in cutting off Saudi shipping through the Red Sea, the kingdom's oil exports would face a serious threat, especially given that the Strait of Hormuz is already blockaded.

Before the war with Iran, up to 80% of all Saudi oil exports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, with the strait blocked, the Red Sea's importance has surged, and more than half of Saudi oil is transported overland to the Yanbu terminal. This is why Saudi Arabia is seeking full control over both its land and sea transport routes.

The struggle between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis for control of Yemen has dragged on for more than a decade — since 2015, when Riyadh intervened in Yemen's civil war on the side of the UN-recognized government. The Iran-backed Houthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and much of the Red Sea coastline, while Saudi-aligned forces hold most of the south and east, including the Hadhramaut and Al-Mahrah regions.

The conflict has sharply escalated over the past two weeks: the Houthis have begun striking facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, while attacks on Saudi merchant vessels in the Red Sea have grown more frequent. Through these actions, the Shia rebels are signaling their support for Iran, which is locked in confrontation with the United States and its allies. Israel had previously been involved in strikes against the Islamic Republic, but is currently not officially participating in the hostilities.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz