Confirmations: Saudi Arabia Decides to Return to Confronting the Houthis
NYN | Reports and Analyses
Regional developments show signs of a notable shift in Saudi calculations regarding the Yemeni file, amid increasing talk about Riyadh’s intention to test a more assertive military and naval role in confronting the Houthis (Ansar Allah) once again.
The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), a news agency specializing in Jewish and Israeli affairs, reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considering rejoining the battle against the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen, in what it described as a sign of direct engagement alongside Israel.
The agency stated in its report that Riyadh’s naval reinforcements, the imposition of sanctions, and the digital warfare campaign indicate a strategic reassessment with major implications for Iran and Israel.
According to the Israeli outlet, Saudi Arabia is signaling its strongest intent in years to confront the Houthis (Ansar Allah), moving to reassert its maritime control in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait after a period of uneasy calm.
It noted that on 15 November, Riyadh began preparations to deploy its forces in the waterway, coinciding with a new UN Security Council decision tightening sanctions on Yemen.
According to military officials in the navy of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, based in Aden, Saudi Arabia has instructed allied naval units to prepare joint inspection missions targeting vessels headed to the port of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Sana’a-based government.
The inspections will be carried out with support from the United States and the United Kingdom, extending from Djibouti into the high seas, increasing operational risks and placing direct pressure on the Sana’a government.
The report states that this renewed Saudi firmness follows the conclusion of the “Red Wave” naval exercises in mid-November at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. The exercises brought together Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Djibouti, and the naval branch of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The agency quoted Alexander Grinberg, a reserve major and Iranian-affairs expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, as saying that Riyadh appears prepared to confront the Iranian-Houthi axis more directly, adding that carrying out any large-scale operation against the Houthis (Ansar Allah) could signal a departure from the previous Saudi-Iranian agreement.
Grinberg pointed to shifts in the regional landscape since Trump’s return to the presidency.
For his part, Abdullah al-Nakhai, naval commander in Aden, said the recent exercises focused on securing maritime corridors and enhancing ship inspection procedures, in the context of Saudi preparations for more offensive naval operations.
The report concludes that the convergence of Riyadh’s moves and the new UN sanctions—which permit boarding and inspecting vessels in international waters—constitutes a clear tightening of pressure on the maritime activities of the Houthis (Ansar Allah), reflecting an increasingly hardline strategic approach in Saudi Arabia’s handling of the Yemeni file.
