Yemen: Pro-Government Forces Recapture the Port of Mokha

Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government have announced the recapture of the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha, wresting it from Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The operation, described as a lightning advance, is part of a broader counteroffensive launched with the support of the Saudi-led coalition. On the same day, the coalition conducted over 100 airstrikes against Houthi targets in the capital Sanaa.

Simultaneously, the Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, striking Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, an Aramco refinery, and other sites, causing explosions heard in the Saudi capital. The attacks resulted in some injuries and limited damage. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan held an emergency meeting in Riyadh to activate the "deterrence measures" outlined in a joint defense pact signed in August, committing to deploy troops.

The conflict in Yemen began in 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group seized control of the capital Sanaa and vast regions of the country, ousting the internationally recognized government and forcing it into exile. The intervention in 2015 of a Saudi-led military coalition in support of the Yemeni government transformed the civil war into a regional proxy conflict between Riyadh and Tehran.

The war, which predates the broader Middle Eastern conflict that erupted after the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, has become the most active front in recent weeks. The stakes were further raised in September when the Houthis captured Mokha, a key port on the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This strait is a crucial passageway for oil, and its control by the Houthis, combined with Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, has created the risk of severe disruptions to global energy supplies, keeping oil markets on alert. Today's offensive represents the most ambitious attempt by the Saudi coalition to reverse recent Houthi gains and regain control of this vital strategic hub.