Yemen10 September, 20263 min read
US Military Advisers Support Saudi Campaign Against Iran-Backed Houthis in Yemen
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
More than 100 U.S. advisers are in Saudi Arabia providing targeting support against Houthis. Expansion of advisory and targeting support signals renewed U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led campaign.
7 outlets told this the same way.
US expands Saudi support
More than 100 US military advisers are on the ground in Saudi Arabia providing intelligence and targeting support to the Kingdom in its military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, CNN reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the effort. CNN says the US military personnel are working as part of a newly-established joint forces command formed in recent weeks amid signs Iran was ramping up efforts to aid Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, and a US official put the total at roughly 200 troops. CNN reports that the US is sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia but is not participating directly in strikes, and is also not helping refuel Saudi warplanes or providing other operational support.
The New York Times frames the wider context as Yemen teetering on the verge of all-out war again after four years of stalemate, with fighting escalating between the Iran-backed Houthi militia and Yemeni government forces and across borders between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. The New York Times adds that on Thursday the Houthis captured a strategic port on the Red Sea in a sweeping ground offensive that could give the group greater control over an important shipping route.
Escalation and competing claims
The Jerusalem Post reports that Yemeni government forces have launched a counteroffensive against the Houthi terror group on several fronts, with Deputy Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Samir al-Sabri saying on official Yemeni television that “the decision to liberate Sana’a has been finalized and taken decisively.”
The Jerusalem Post says the Houthis have controlled Sana’a since late 2014, and it notes that Saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm in March 2015 and Operation Restoring Hope the next month, neither of which succeeded in removing the group from the capital.
On the Saudi side, Gulf News says Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants launched their heaviest attacks on Saudi Arabia in years on Tuesday, wounding 73 civilians and hitting energy facilities in the kingdom’s south, with fires breaking out and some operations temporarily halted.
Gulf News also reports that Riyadh has warned it will take “all necessary measures” to defend its sovereignty, while Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on X that the operations in Yemen constituted “Saudi aggression.”
The Jerusalem Post adds that Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree threatened further attacks if the campaign continued, asserting that “Saudi Arabia is carrying out these operations,” not the Yemeni army.
What’s at stake next
CNN says the US assistance comes as fighting intensifies and risks spilling into open war with the Houthis, threatening a second major shipping corridor out of the Middle East. CNN reports that US officials believe there are currently hundreds of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officers in Yemen working alongside the Houthis with the goal of ultimately shutting down the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Gulf News says the offensive is aimed at territory that could give the Houthis greater influence around Bab Al Mandab, while Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces are fighting to stop their advance.
Gulf News also states that the UN’s International Organisation for Migration estimated about 18,500 people had been displaced in Taiz and Hodeidah, with the number rising rapidly. Haaretz frames the stakes as “The entire Gulf region could be on the brink of war again,” linking Saudi-Houthi escalation to the risk of drawing Iran and the U.S. back into war.