Yemen Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanlığı Liderlik Şurası Başkanı
Yemen's president calls on his people to mobilise against Iran-backed Houthis
Yemen’s Riyadh-based President Rashid al-Alimi on Friday called on his people to mobilise and join the armed forces while offering a general amnesty to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have seized swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coast and imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Yemen calls on citizens to join Yemeni armed forces, fight Iran-backed Houthis
Yemen’s Presidential Council chairman, Rashad al-Alimi, also said that any Houthi terrorists who defect from the group and stop fighting will receive full amnesty.
Yemen’s path to stability depends on restoring the state, Leadership Council vice-president tells UN
The Vice-President of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir, told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that his Government had engaged “responsibly and positively” with regional and international peace initiatives and made significant concessions to end the suffering of the Yemeni people.
Top Yemen official calls for US military support against Houthis
Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir did not specify what military assistance his government was seeking from Washington but emphasized the need for cooperation on "intelligence and security."
Houthis push for control of Yemen’s highlands
• Trump speaks with Yemen’s president, doesn’t pledge military support • NYT says US president reversed decision on air strikes on Houthis DUBAI: Houthi fighters were pushing to seize strategic heights in Yemen on Monday to cut off the Red Sea coast from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces, after a report that President Donald Trump had called off US strikes on the group at the last minute. US President Trump spoke by phone with Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi on Sunday, four people familiar with the matter said, discussing the advances of the Houthis around a vital global waterway. Alimi requested US support for his Saudi-backed government in its fight against the Houthis, who this month took key areas along the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive. Two of the sources, one Yemeni and one Western, said Trump had made no direct pledge of military support during the call. The White House and Yemen’s information minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the other hand, a lightning advance by the Houthis this month has extended the wider Middle East conflict to a new theatre. Strategic heights Five Yemeni military sources told Reuters that the Houthis were now seeking to seize strategic heights, known as the Kahboub Mountains, in two provinces, Taiz and Lahij, which separate the Red Sea coast from the government-held south. Fighting has centred on the outskirts of the remote mountain Al-Wazi’iyah district in Taiz province, and Ras al-Ara along the Indian Ocean coast between the mouth of the Red Sea that the fighters captured last week and the government’s base in Aden. The Houthis aim to secure the rear of their forces around the Bab al-Mandab Strait leading into the Red Sea by taking control of the heights, which would allow them to open new fronts, according to the sources. That would help protect exposed positions the Houthis captured during their advance around Dhubab on the Red Sea and on Perim Island in the strait. The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen’s capital since 2014, seized the country’s Red Sea coast this month in a lightning advance that routed forces of an internationally recognised Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and based in the south. Saudi plea The New York Times reported that President Trump has changed his strategy on Yemen several times, torn between Saudi pressure to strike the Iran-backed Houthis and the risk of opening another front in the Middle East war. It said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Sunday “to implore him, again, to step in to help blunt the rapidly advancing group”. Trump had told his advisers the day before that he opposed strikes but changed his mind after the call and “told the Pentagon to prepare for air strikes against the Houthis”, the newspaper reported, citing anonymous administration officials. However, he appeared to have reversed his decision again by midday Sunday, it said. Trump’s decision to pull back from striking the Houthis came as “commanders had approved target lists, troops were loading bombs onto US warplanes selected for the missions and the wave of attacks was just about to begin”, the Times said, citing two people briefed on the operation. US news platform Axios said Trump had already refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis last week. Fox News reported on Sunday that Trump had said the Houthis have agreed not to hit US targets. Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2026
US clears way for $24.3 billion military aircraft sale to Saudi ArabiaTrump, in call with Yemen president, did not pledge military support against Houthis, say sources
Sept 21 - US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi on Sunday, four people familiar with the matter said, discussing the advances of the Iran-backed Houthis around a vital global waterway.
Will Houthis' rapid advance drag US, Saudi Arabia back into Yemen?
This week, after launching an unprecedented series of strikes on Saudi Arabia, the Houthis embarked on a sweeping offensive in Yemen, seizing large swathes of territory along the Red Sea coast. These rapid changes have pushed Yemen’s war back into the regional arena, threatening Red Sea shipping and placing the country’s Saudi-backed, internationally-recognized government on the back foot. The rapid reversal came only days after the government declared a campaign to retake Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, amid a broader escalation in fighting across the country. A 2022 truce had reduced large-scale combat and allowed Saudi Arabia to distance itself from the conflict, but it left the capital under Houthi control and did nothing to establish centralized control over the country and its heavy weapons. Now, as the Houthis advance rapidly toward government strongholds in the south, Yemen’s military is scrambling to regroup and make progress on its planned offensive in the north. The question now is whether Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and other powers will now intervene to help blunt the Houthis’ rapid advances. A showdown Maj. Gen. Samir al-Sabri, Yemen’s assistant defense minister for international cooperation, said Monday that operations would extend from Marib and Al-Jawf to Al-Bayda, Taiz, and the western coast. Pressure across several fronts could force the Houthis to disperse fighters and resources, but it also risks exposing weaknesses among anti-Houthi forces. Those forces do not all operate through a single structure. Some are tied directly to the government, while others are connected to local power centers or regional patrons with different priorities. A push toward Sanaa would require secure supply lines, reliable intelligence, coordination between commands, tribal understandings, and a plan for administering areas that change hands. Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi says the government is not asking foreign states to fight the war on Yemen’s behalf. Still, Saudi Arabia has restarted some airstrikes against Houthi positions near Sanaa, and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes of its own — a request that Washington has so far declined, according to Axios. Yemen’s internationally-recognized government has launched airstrikes on Houthi targets along the coast in an attempt to slow the group’s advance, according to Al Jazeera, but there is so far little indication these attacks are having an effect on the offensive. When the war crossed the border The return of Houthi attacks on Saudi territory raised the stakes. On September 8, ballistic missiles and drones were launched toward Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran. The Houthis said they had targeted an air base and oil facilities, while Saudi authorities reported civilian injuries and disruption at some facilities. And on Friday, reports emerged of smoke rising near Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which has provided a crucial outlet for exporting Saudi oil as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. The attack on the pipeline originated in Iraq, not Yemen, according to the Iraqi government. For Riyadh, this escalation reopens a problem it had spent years trying to contain. The experience after 2015 showed that air superiority could damage military targets without producing a stable political outcome. Saudi Arabia gradually lowered its direct involvement because the costs were high and the strategic return was limited. That calculation becomes harder to sustain if missiles and drones continue to cross the border. A strike that seriously damages energy infrastructure could force a stronger response. At that point, for Riyadh, deterrence becomes as important as Yemen policy. Bab al-Mandab makes the problem more sensitive because instability there affects actors far beyond Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is critical to international trade and energy flows. The Houthis have said their restrictions are directed at Saudi shipping and that other vessels can pass. Shipping companies and insurers, however, are highly risk-averse and may be unwilling to pass through contested waters. The Houthis’ growing power along the coast could thus give the U.S. and European states reason to become more involved in Yemen. Will Washington and Riyadh join the war directly? The United States approaches the conflict from a narrow strategic position. Washington wants to protect Saudi territory, reduce the missile and drone threat, limit weapons flows, and keep maritime routes open. The Yemeni government wants something broader: a change in the internal balance of power and restoration of state authority over territory and weapons. That distinction will shape how far foreign support goes amid rapid shifts on the frontlines. Washington can expand intelligence sharing, strengthen Saudi air and missile defenses, increase maritime surveillance, support weapons interdiction, and impose sanctions without endorsing a full campaign toward Sanaa. Saudi Arabia is likely to prefer a similarly selective approach. Riyadh can provide weapons, intelligence, and logistical support to government forces while strengthening its own defenses and avoiding the scale of direct intervention seen earlier in the war. Iran complicates the calculation. Tehran denies controlling Houthi decisions, while Western and regional governments accuse it of supplying weapons, technology, and military assistance. Even if the Houthis retain substantial autonomy, their ability to threaten Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping gives Iran strategic leverage. Other major powers will view the conflict mainly through their own interests. China wants secure maritime trade. Britain and France have condemned attacks while supporting a UN-led political process. None has an obvious interest in assuming responsibility for Yemen’s internal war. Their position could change if Bab al-Mandab becomes persistently unsafe. Expanded naval patrols, tighter sanctions, and additional defensive assistance for the internationally-recognized government would become easier to justify. Support for a major ground offensive would still depend on what comes after military gains. If Yemen’s government cannot show that it can administer recaptured areas, integrate security forces, restore basic services, and limit rivalry among its allies, outside powers may decide that containment remains less risky than backing a broad military transformation without a clear political end state. This is why the near-term outcome is more likely to be a prolonged contest than a rapid march on Sanaa. Fighting may intensify on several fronts, Houthi missiles and drones may continue to pressure Saudi Arabia, naval deployments may grow, and sanctions may expand without producing a decisive result. This could, of course, change rapidly if the Houthis manage to solidify their gains along the Red Sea, which would create a lasting threat to shipping. Saudi Arabia does not want to return to an open-ended war. Washington does not want another major military commitment in the Middle East. The United Nations wants to preserve a political channel. Yemen’s government wants stronger support without abandoning its goal of restoring state authority. The Houthis want to show that pressure against them can impose costs beyond Yemen. The key question is what happens on Saudi territory and around Bab al-Mandab. If attacks there continue and expand, Washington, Riyadh, and other powers may enter the war more directly, expanding beyond the airstrikes the U.S. launched during the Biden administration and in the early days of the Trump administration. Such a shift could turn the Yemen war into a major front of the growing conflagration that is already consuming much of the Middle East.
Will Houthis' rapid advance drag US, Saudi Arabia back into Yemen?Key port falls as Houthis eye Red Sea gateway
• Advance brings group closer to Hanish islands, Bab el-Mandab • Over 70 wounded in attacks on southern Saudi Arabia; Riyadh launches several retaliatory airstrikes across Yemen • Coalition allies regroup near Dhubab opposite Perim island SANAA: Houthi forces on Thursday seized the strategic Yemeni port city of Mocha and pushed south along the Red Sea coast towards the Hanish islands, raising fears that fighting could threaten one of the world’s most important shipping routes. The advance brings the group closer to the Bab el-Mandab strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a crucial passage for oil, fuel and international trade. The development comes at a particularly sensitive moment for global energy markets. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on its Red Sea export route after disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the wider conflict with Iran. Millions of barrels have instead been shipped through the Saudi port of Yanbu. Brent crude rose as much as 4pc on Thursday, reaching about $105 a barrel, while US benchmark WTI climbed above $100 as traders reacted to the possibility of further disruption to energy supplies. The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre said navigation in the Red Sea remained safe for shipping companies other than Saudi vessels. Mohammed Abdulsalam, a Houthi spokesperson, described the group’s operations as defensive and said they would end when attacks on Yemen stopped. Yemeni government military sources said Houthi forces reached the Hanish islands after rocket attacks and an assault involving fighters transported by boat. Government forces and their allies have meanwhile been repositioning towards Dhubab, on the coast opposite the island of Perim. Both locations sit close to the Bab el-Mandab and are considered strategically important for controlling access to the strait. The Bab el-Mandab, or “Gate of Tears” separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea. Oil and fuel travelling from the Gulf towards the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal pass through the waterway, as does substantial commercial traffic heading towards Asia. “Controlling the coast would strengthen Houthi maritime coercion,” Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King’s College London, said. The capture of Mocha represents a significant setback for forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, appealed for Arab and international assistance in protecting Yemen’s coastline and restoring government authority over ports and territorial waters. “The protection of Yemen’s coasts and the restoration of state control over its territory, ports and waters is a joint Yemeni, Egyptian, Arab and international interest,” al-Alimi said. Tarek Saleh, whose National Resistance Forces had controlled Mocha, said his command centre had been moved to a secure location while his forces regrouped. He acknowledged heavy losses during the fighting and accused Iran of planning and supporting the Houthi offensive. As the Houthis pressed their offensive, Saudi Arabia launched dozens of airstrikes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi aircraft conducted 64 strikes over the past 24 hours across multiple provinces. Meanwhile, the Houthis stepped up attacks on southern Saudi Arabia. Saudi civil defence authorities issued emergency alerts in Khamis Mushait for the fourth time in 24 hours, and the kingdom reported that recent Houthi strikes wounded 73 people. Witnesses in Mocha reported fighters marching and chanting, “Death to America, death to Israel.” The advance drove many residents to flee to Aden. Mohamed, a 46-year-old who left Mocha in the middle of the night, described an “apocalyptic” atmosphere, while another fleeing resident, Mujahid Tahami, said some families fell victim to “looting by gangs as they tried to flee”. The renewed fighting has left more than 500 dead since last week, and displaced nearly 20,000 people. Yemen relapsed into war in July after the Houthis let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace, prompting the government to strike Sanaa airport. The current clashes risk returning Yemen to the devastating civil war that began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2026
Bab al-Mandab Strait — key oil route facing growing Houthi threat