Key Takeaways
- Houthi fighters push to seize strategic heights in Yemen’s highlands.
- US President Trump reportedly called off planned airstrikes on Houthis.
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince urged Trump to intervene in Yemen’s conflict.
Houthi fighters are pushing to seize strategic heights in Yemen’s highlands, aiming to cut off the Red Sea coast from areas held by Saudi-backed forces, according to reports.
The Houthis have recently extended the wider Middle East conflict to a new theatre by taking key areas along the Bab al-Mandab strait, according to sources.
Fighting has 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 Houthis aim to secure the rear of their forces around the Bab al-Mandab Strait by taking control of the strategic heights, which would allow them to open new fronts.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump spoke with Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi, discussing the advances of the Houthis around a vital global waterway.
Alimi requested US support for his Saudi-backed government in its fight against the Houthis, who have taken key areas this month in a lightning offensive.
Two sources, one Yemeni and one Western, said Trump made no direct pledge of military support during the call.
The New York Times reported that President Trump had initially prepared to launch airstrikes against the Houthis after pleas from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
However, Trump reportedly called off the airstrikes at the last minute, even as troops were loading bombs onto aircraft, according to the newspaper.
Washington has so far rebuffed repeated pleas from Saudi Arabia to join the fight in Yemen, despite the Houthis’ recent advances.
The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen’s capital since 2014, have seized the country’s Red Sea coast in a lightning advance that routed forces of an internationally recognised Yemeni government.
The Saudi crown prince reportedly called Trump again on Sunday to implore him to step in and help blunt the rapidly advancing group.
