Saudis Pound Yemen as Houthis Seek Strategic Territory

Saudi Arabia Leads Offensive in Yemen Against Houthis

Saudi Arabia continued airstrikes Friday for a third straight day against the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels as part of Operation Decisive Storm. The kingdom is leading a coalition composed of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Pakistan, and Egypt – all Sunni countries – to support recently ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government and counter Iran’s growing regional influence.

The airstrikes began on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia moved heavy military equipment to its 1,100-mile southern border with Yemen. Riyadh has strongly asserted that Hadi is the legitimate leader of Yemen and that the Houthis’ coup is causing its neighboring country chaos.

The Saudi airstrikes have targeted Houthi camps in the north, where the Shiite rebels are based and more stable, and in the south where the rebels are advancing to gain more territory and consolidate their power. The coalition is also targeting supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Republican Guard troops are believed to still be loyal to Saleh, and Saleh has been aligned with the Houthis following his ouster from power during the Arab Spring.

Iran has called the airstrikes an invasion, violating Yemen’s sovereignty, and a ‘dangerous step’ as Saudi Arabia threatens to use ground troops.

The Houthi militants are advancing towards Aden, the southern port city, where Hadi recently fled to after his ouster. He arrived Thursday in Riyadh en route to an Arab League summit in Egypt on Saturday.

Beyond being the temporary base for Hadi’s government, Aden is a strategic asset. It lies on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, where the Gulf of Aden meets the Red Sea, which then flows through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Europe. This sea-lane is essential for the shipment of numerous goods, including oil. The Gulf Arab states use this route from the Persian Gulf to ship much of their oil.

Given that Yemen is so close to touching Djibouti on the African continent, if the Houthis/Iran control Aden and southern Yemen, they could block that narrow bit of waterway to control the entire critical water passage. Such a scenario would have immense economic and strategic effects on the world. In 2013, 3.8 million bbl/d of crude oil and refined petroleum went through this path to Asia, Europe, and the U.S.

The situation in Yemen also has significant importance for the geopolitical struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia along with the moderate Sunni Arab states and is hurting America’s ability to counter al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. With Saudi Arabia showing no signs of slowing down its offensive and Iran unlikely to stop its aggression, Yemen will continue to be a proxy war between both sides and of central importance to the dynamics of the Middle East.