Saudi-Backed Yemeni Offensive Retakes Control of Bab El-Mandeb Strait

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have gained effective control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen’s information minister said Monday, following a coastal offensive to reclaim the oil chokepoint from the Houthis.

The claim signals a potential reversal of the group’s seizure of the strait last month.

However, combat continues nearby, and the Houthis have rejected the government's account of the advance.

Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister, told Reuters that troops had captured the Dhubab airstrip and isolated Houthi fighters remaining in the area.

Another government source said a military base near the strait was still contested.

The Houthis dismissed reports of government gains as “completely untrue.”

Coastal Gains, Continuing Shipping Risks

Government troops moved swiftly along the coast under intensive Saudi air cover, taking positions around Dhubab beside the strait’s narrowest section.

Recovering that coastline would limit the Houthis’ ability to obstruct the shipping corridor linking the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.

It would not eliminate the threat: drones launched from inland areas or positions farther along the coast could still strike vessels.

The battle has added pressure to energy markets already disrupted by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Fighting around Bab el-Mandeb threatens another major outlet for Gulf oil exports and has helped drive prices higher.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government announced the offensive Sunday.

President Rashad al-Alimi pledged to continue fighting “until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia”.

Saudi Air Power and U.S. Assistance

Saudi Arabia said Monday that its forces had struck hundreds of targets in Yemen in support of government troops and operations around Bab el-Mandeb.

Riyadh supplies weapons and training to the Yemeni forces.

It has also sought logistical assistance from allies as it tries to restore Red Sea traffic and stop Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory.

More than 200 U.S. intelligence and military analysts are assisting with target assessment and selection inside Saudi command centers.

Washington is also supplying aerial refueling for Saudi defensive patrols. President Donald Trump, however, rejected Saudi requests for direct U.S. attacks on Houthi targets.

The Yemeni government reported operations on several fronts, including Sanaa province.

The Houthi-run health ministry said strikes in the province’s Sanhan and Sa’wan districts killed two people and wounded seven.

Houthi Advances Around Taiz

The government’s reported coastal gains coincide with Houthi advances in the highlands around Taiz, where government forces face a tightening siege.

Five government military sources said Houthi fighters gained ground in al-Turbah on Sunday night, taking sections of a mountain road. Another government source disputed the account.

Attacks last week had already rendered the Taiz-Aden road unusable by damaging a culvert.

A Houthi-run news agency separately reported that the group had expelled government troops from al-Mawasit district and reached Alimi’s home.

Government military sources said the advances had encircled Taiz, a city of more than half a million people containing thousands of government fighters.

The renewed fighting has ended the relative calm maintained by a 2022 ceasefire.

Yemen’s war began after the Houthis captured Sanaa in 2014, followed by a Saudi-led military intervention the next year.