Houthi-Saudi clash escalates as rebels push into key strait

Simon Marks, Bloomberg News on Sep 11, 2026

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The Houthis advanced toward Red Sea coastal areas bordering the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as fighting between the militant group and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces intensifies.

The Houthis have gained ground in their attempt to seize Mokha near the southern end of the Red Sea, according to several analysts, with some saying the Yemeni port city has been captured.

The Iran-backed militant group has already disrupted shipping and oil markets in recent years via its control of the port of Hodeida and other territory near the strait. Gaining Mokha would see it take charge of a second important port in the area and further tighten its grip on the waterway.

The seizure of Mokha “can certainly have an impact on maritime security in the region,” said Bjorn Beirens, a shipping-security consultant. “It gives them a foothold from which they could push further south in a bid to get almost full control of the strait.”

The ground advance in Yemen comes as the Houthis continue to fire missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s southwestern towns, damaging energy sites.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called President Donald Trump twice Thursday and urged him to strike the Houthis, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials it didn’t name. Trump declined, saying he has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis for now. But a U.S. official said the administration will provide Riyadh with intelligence on the Houthis and targeting data.

The fighting is contributing to oil’s rise this week — with Brent crude trading near $107 a barrel on Friday — and adds to problems for Gulf Arab producers already struggling because of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia said 73 people, including women and children, were injured in recent Houthi attacks on several locations in the kingdom. The Houthis say they’re retaliating against dozens of Saudi-backed assaults on areas they control in northwestern Yemen and against Saudi Arabia effectively blockading some of their ports and airports.

The Houthi ground advance risk dragging Saudi Arabia further into the conflict and straining its relationship with Iran as it tries to mediate a resolution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said Friday that the conflict in Yemen “cannot be resolved through continued blockade and military backing,” according to a statement by its Foreign Ministry.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and both stressed “continued cooperation and diplomatic efforts to prevent regional tensions from spreading and restore stability and security.”

The Houthis emerged in the 1990s after North Yemen and South Yemen were unified, waging a series of rebellions against the government. They seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, triggering an ongoing civil war. Saudi Arabia led an unsuccessful military campaign from 2015 to dislodge the rebels.

The latest surge in tensions began in mid-July, when the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports and began attacks on some such as Jazan and Yanbu. The latter has become the main outlet for Saudi oil since Iran sought to take control of the Hormuz strait more than six months ago, following the outbreak of war with the U.S. and Israel.

A Saudi-backed coalition in Yemen retaliated with strikes on Houthi targets in Hodeida and elsewhere.

In August, Yemeni government forces struck Houthi positions with drones, the first time they had used such sophisticated weaponry, said Amr al-Bidh, special representative for the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist movement in Yemen.

On Thursday, Yemen’s Houthi-backed Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign “compelled the Armed Forces to take necessary action to counter them.”

The United Nations says 18,500 people have already been forced from their homes along part of Yemen’s western coast because of the fighting.

An advance down the coast by the Houthis could lead to the “strategic real estate” that makes up the narrowest section of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, said Andrew Farrand, Middle East and North Africa director for Horizon Engage, a political risk consultancy. “It’s surprising and a big, big setback for the Saudi efforts in Yemen.”

—With assistance from Veena Ali-Khan, Charles Gorrivan, Paul Burkhardt, Dana Khraiche and Mike Cohen.