Saudi Arabia is preparing a major military operation to break a blockade imposed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on its oil exports in the southern Red Sea. The operation could be carried out by sea and, if possible, by land in central Yemen, according to Yemeni sources.
Saudi forces have already been seen withdrawing from eastern Yemen, a move believed to be preparation for a land operation. At the same time, Riyadh has stepped up efforts to form a multinational naval coalition to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
On Thursday, the Saudi defense ministry said 14 countries — including Bangladesh, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti — had issued a joint statement backing the proposed coalition, and that Riyadh had urged the United States and influential European countries — Britain, Germany, France and Italy — to join. The European Union’s “Aspides” naval security mission is already operating in the Red Sea.
Sana’a and much of the Red Sea coast are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis. On July 20, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships, though they denied planning to tax all vessels. The Houthis say they will lift their blockade only if Saudi Arabia lifts its own blockade on Yemen. Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 on the side of the UN-recognized government.
Analysts said the Red Sea route had become vital for Saudi oil because the war around Iran had shut the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. Before the Iran war, about 80 percent of Saudi crude passed through Hormuz; now more than half is piped to the Red Sea port of Yanbu for export.
The Houthis have intensified attacks on Riyadh, claiming strikes on strategic oil infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia on July 25. Earlier, the Saudi air force struck Houthi positions at Yemen’s Hodeidah port, and a Saudi merchant ship was attacked in the Red Sea. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held an emergency meeting on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump and JD Vance. Saudi Arabia has made clear that while it is ready to protect its oil industry, it does not want to widen the war with Iran and believes the US-Iran dispute can still be resolved diplomatically.
Separately, Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes in Iraq on Wednesday in response to attacks on Saudi oil facilities, in which at least 20 people were killed, according to reports. Trump claimed the joint US-Saudi strike was carried out with the Iraqi government’s consent, though Baghdad did not confirm this. Yemeni sources said Saudi forces were massing to retake the south-central al-Bayda province, which the Houthis captured in 2020-21, and that tensions could ease if mediation by Oman and Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report