Saudi Arabia is planning a military operation against Iran-backed Ansarallah (the Houthis) in Yemen, according to a Reuters report citing six regional and Western officials. According to the report, as relayed by Ettelaat and Iran International, the operation is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Under the plan, Yemeni forces under Riyadh's control will carry out the ground offensive, with support from the Saudi air force.

According to the officials, the main goal of the operation is to retake the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and its surroundings, which the Houthis seized last month by advancing along the coast. Saudi Arabia has two options:

  • A focused operation limited to the area around Bab el-Mandeb
  • A broader offensive covering multiple fronts at once in the provinces of Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Jawf

Depending on the scale of the operation, more than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized.

According to the sources, the United States is currently providing Riyadh with the intelligence needed for the operation. Some regional and European countries are also giving Saudi Arabia military assistance that is mainly defensive. However, Riyadh's allies are not expected to take part directly in combat.

The role attributed to Turkey

In its headline, Ettelaat asks: "How are Trump, Pakistan and Turkey helping Bin Salman?" However, the text of the report the newspaper relays contains no concrete information about Turkey's role. The text mentions only defensive assistance from "some regional and European countries." Turkey is also not named in Iran International's text, which is based on the same Reuters report. The Turkey claim in the headline was not confirmed in these sources. No official statement from Turkey on the matter was found.

Context

Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A ceasefire reached in 2022 largely held until this year. After the Iran war, the Houthis began missile and drone attacks on ships and Saudi oil infrastructure. With the disruption in Hormuz, the importance of Bab el-Mandeb, the southern outlet of the Red Sea, has grown even further.