For Iran’s Benefit: Houthis Ignite Western Coast Front, Targeting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
The Houthi militias have opened a new war front in Yemen, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, serving Iran’s interests and seeking to pressure Washington, according to observers.
Over the past several days, the Houthis have launched their largest attacks of this kind to date, using missiles and drones against several areas along Yemen’s western coast, while simultaneously deploying substantial reinforcements to fronts overlooking the Red Sea.
Over the past four days, the Houthi militias have used more than 60 missiles and drones, alongside the launch of several booby-trapped boats that targeted the historic port of Mokha and commercial vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Observers believe the Houthi attacks, which brought the truce to an end, are aimed at reshaping the map of military control on the ground and expanding the scope of the maritime threat, as part of an Iranian strategy to control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
According to observers, through this escalation the Houthi militias are seeking to advance Iran’s strategic interests and influence the course of negotiations with Washington and the international community.
Escalation on the Ground
On the ground, “Al-Ain News” learned from security sources that the Houthi militias had, in recent hours, deployed and redistributed rapid-response and reserve forces known as the “Al-Badr Brigades” in the Al-Jarahi district, south of Hodeidah, as part of intensive preparations for an escalation on the Hays fronts in the same coastal province.
The group has also brought in manpower reinforcements from Dhamar province to Hodeidah. Additional personnel arriving from Dhamar and Sanaa were deployed to an educational facility in the Al-Salafiyah district of neighboring Raymah province, with the aim of redeploying these combat groups toward the Hodeidah fronts along the Red Sea, according to the sources.
At the same time, the sources confirmed that the Houthi militias had deployed Grad rocket launchers, heavy artillery, and air-defense systems at farms and strategic positions in Al-Jarahi. They also carried out military movements and offensive preparations, including the deployment of missile-launch platforms and drones in Al-Jabbin and Al-Salafiyah in Raymah province, whose highlands overlook the Red Sea.
The group also deployed dozens of missile and drone launch platforms in Ibb province and in the districts of Maqbanah, Al-Taiziyah, Mawiyah, and Dimnat Khadir, west and east of Taiz. The militias have already used these platforms in recent days to shell Mokha and cargo vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthi reinforcements deployed to the Hodeidah fronts, together with the missile platforms positioned in Raymah, Taiz, and Ibb, indicate that the group is seeking to maintain a rear base capable of supporting attacks launched from Hodeidah and preserving its ability to target maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to the sources.
Offensive Plans
In this regard, a security source in Hodeidah said that the Houthi militias had prepared plans to launch a large-scale maritime assault against islands in the Red Sea, including Zuqar, located off the southern coast of Hodeidah. The island serves as an advanced defensive line protecting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Houthi attacks, while also constituting an advanced maritime front toward Hodeidah.
The source explained that the Houthi plans included coordinating a maritime attack against islands controlled by the Yemeni Coast Guard and the National Resistance, in cooperation with Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, with the aim of taking control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Another security source on Yemen’s western coast downplayed the effectiveness of any potential Houthi attack on the islands, describing such an operation as “genuine suicide.” The source said Zuqar is a heavily fortified position held by the naval forces of the National Resistance, led by Presidential Council member Tareq Saleh.
The source added that the Houthi attacks in recent days against islands such as Zuqar and Al-Urdi on Mayyun Island, using suicide drones, ballistic missiles, and booby-trapped boats, were part of a broader escalation targeting areas along Yemen’s western coast. The source nevertheless stressed that the group was completely incapable of achieving any breakthrough, either on land or at sea.
