Yemen · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Houthis Push To Seize Yemen Highlands After Trump Cancels US Airstrikes
Houthis pushing to seize strategic highlands in Taiz and Lahij to isolate Red Sea coast. Move comes after reports Trump canceled planned US airstrikes on the group.
11 outlets, one story, no spin found.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: satellite data: Saudi exports via Strait of Hormuz reached 2.9 mbpd recently..
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Houthi bid for high ground
Houthi fighters pushed to seize strategic heights in Yemen on Monday to cut off the Red Sea coast from areas still held by Saudi-backed forces, after a report said President Donald Trump had called off US strikes on the group at the last minute. The Houthis aimed to secure the rear of their forces around the Bab al-Mandab Strait by taking control of the Kahboub Mountains in Taiz and Lahij, and fighting centered on the outskirts of the remote mountain Al-Wazi'iyah district in Taiz province and Ras al-Ara along the Indian Ocean coast. The United Nations estimate said nearly 700 people have been killed and thousands injured in the flare-up in fighting, and Reuters said more than 3,000 Yemenis fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.
The Houthis said on Saturday they had fired on Riyadh, where loud booms were followed by columns of smoke visible near the airport, and Reuters said Saudi Arabia had not commented on the first apparent strikes on the capital since the escalation began. Trump spoke on Sunday to Rashid al-Alimi, president of Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government, after al-Alimi asked him for US military help, and two sources told Reuters Trump made no direct pledge of military support during the call.
Airstrikes called off, pressure rises
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had prepared on Sunday to launch airstrikes against the Houthis after renewed appeals from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but the newspaper said Trump called off the airstrikes at the last minute while troops were loading bombs onto aircraft.
Reuters said the U.S. Central Command referred questions to the White House and the White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, while Reuters said it could not immediately verify the New York Times report.
The reported decision to cancel planned strikes came as the Trump administration faced growing pressure to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis while trying to avoid expanding a wider Middle East war that had already disrupted global energy supplies.
The United States launched a two month bombing campaign against the Houthis in early 2025, and Trump later ended the operation after reaching a ceasefire with the group and has largely stayed out of the conflict since then.
The Houthis claimed on Saturday that they had fired toward Riyadh, and loud explosions were followed by smoke near the Saudi capital’s airport, although Saudi authorities had not publicly confirmed the reported strikes.
Energy stakes and shipping risk
The Houthis’ newfound control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait risks cutting off the main alternative route that Saudi Arabia has used for oil exports that bypass disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia responded by increasing shipments through Hormuz, where a small number of tankers are increasingly shuttling back and forth to bring out oil, charging record fees of as much as a quarter of the value of the cargo to brave the wartime risk. Satellite data showed Saudi exports through Hormuz reaching 2.9 million barrels per day in recent days, up from just 700,000 in August, and that helped put a cap on the global price of crude oil as it retreated closer to $100 a barrel after approaching $110 last week.
The US retail price of diesel hit another all-time high on Monday above $6.51 a gallon, from around $3.75 before the war began in February, and Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency reported a ship sailing into the strait had been hit with a projectile causing minor injuries to crew. Diplomacy in the wider conflict had largely been stalled since a June interim agreement between the United States and Iran collapsed within weeks, and Iran’s President Masoud began the next section of its account of the regional context.