Saudi Arabia plans military offensive against Houthis to reclaim Red Sea strait
According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is preparing a military offensive against Yemen's Houthi movement in the coming weeks to retake control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical shipping route. The operation would significantly escalate the ongoing conflict as Houthi attacks continue to disrupt global shipping through the Red Sea. The strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and remains essential for international trade and energy shipments.
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Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a military offensive against Yemen's Houthi movement in the coming weeks in an attempt to break the group's control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to Reuters. The strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints for global trade and energy shipments.
The reported plan emerges amid the ongoing Red Sea crisis, in which Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels have disrupted international shipping routes and forced many carriers to reroute around southern Africa, adding significant costs and delays to global trade. The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have controlled substantial stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coastline for years as part of the broader Yemeni civil war.
Any major Saudi offensive would represent a substantial escalation of the conflict and carries considerable risk of further disrupting regional shipping lanes already strained by instability. The report did not specify the scale or timing of the planned operation beyond indicating it was expected within weeks.
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