Yemen’s internationally recognized government announced a military offensive to reclaim territory seized by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who recently captured the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Red Sea coast as diplomatic efforts stall.
Yemeni Government Launches Counteroffensive After Red Sea Territorial Losses
Yemen’s government has announced a military operation aimed at recovering the remaining territories
currently controlled by Houthi forces, according to an announcement made by Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s ruling Presidential Leadership Council, speaking from Saudi Arabia. The military push comes after the Houthis executed a land grab last month, sweeping down the west coast from Hodeidah to seize the port city of Mokha and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
A senior government official in Yemen described the defeat on the west coast as painful
.
The renewed fighting has shattered a four-year ceasefire and revived a civil war that has displaced over 80,000 people since the beginning of September. The National Resistance, a government-allied force that previously controlled coastal areas, issued its first casualty toll, reporting more than 500 government fighters killed over a four-week period alongside more than 1,000 Houthi casualties in Hodeida and Taiz provinces.
Houthi Missiles and Drone Strikes Target Saudi Arabia
While ground battles intensify along Yemen’s west coast, Houthi forces have launched a barrage of missile and drone attacks directed at neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government in Aden.
In a separate prerecorded statement, Saree asserted that the group also targeted facilities of Saudi state-run Aramco in Riyadh and in the Kurais area, home to a facility situated 150 kilometers southeast of the capital. The infrastructure attacks extended beyond direct border skirmishes. Iran’s foreign ministry has denied any involvement in either the pipeline attack or the events in Yemen.
Hormuz Talks Stall As Tehran Sets Conditions For Washington
Regional diplomatic efforts suffered a setback when Gulf states postponed a meeting with Iran concerning the future of the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting was called off due to a lack of Arab consensus and anger over Tehran’s backing of the Houthi offensive in Yemen.
The meeting would have addressed a proposed commercial shipping route through Iranian waters while the strait remained closed, though Tehran had attached preconditions, including a US naval blockade lift on Iranian ports, the release of frozen assets, and a ceasefire in Lebanon. Against this backdrop of stalled diplomacy, Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced that Tehran had forwarded seven conditions to the United States via Qatari mediators to end the war, which is now in its seventh month.
Seven conditions of Iran for starting any negotiation have been announced to the US government. Tehran’s message is clear and unambiguous; if Washington wants to get out of the quagmire it has created itself and not get more entangled in it, it has no choice but to accept Iran’s rights and conditions.
Mohsen Rezaei, Head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
Rezaei stated that Tehran is awaiting President Donald Trump’s response, adding that the conditions require ending hostilities on all fronts, releasing seized assets, lifting port blockades, and stopping the fighting involving Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed that Tehran is open to diplomatic avenues to reach a fair and honorable solution, while warning that any renewed military confrontation would prompt a response. The civil war has displaced over 80,000 people since the beginning of September.
