Yemen's government launches all-out offensive on Houthis
Yemen's leader Rashad al-Alimi said on TV Sunday that his Saudi-backed government has begun a war to take back every area held by the Iran-backed Houthis and will fight until the land is free. The Houthis said they fired missiles and drones at Saudi oil sites in Riyadh and Khurais. Those Aramco strike claims have not been confirmed.
Yemen's government declared an all-out push against the Houthis on Sunday.
Rashad al-Alimi leads the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, the government the world recognizes. In a TV address, he said his forces would fight "until the country is liberated" from the Iran-backed group, CNBC and Al Jazeera reported. He said every chance to calm the war had run out. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that he offered amnesty to fighters who lay down their weapons and told people in Houthi areas to stay away from military sites and supply routes.
As the announcement came, the Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais oil area. CNBC reported that the group claimed major fires and said it was answering about 50 Saudi-led air and missile strikes over 12 hours. A Saudi-led coalition spokesman called the group's Saturday claim about Riyadh "misleading," Al Jazeera reported, even after an AFP photo showed flames near an Aramco site there.
Earlier Sunday, the coalition said it carried out 97 strikes on Houthi forces near Taiz and on the Tor al-Baha front. Government forces also said they hit targets in Sanaa and Saada, The National reported. None of the casualty claims from either side have been independently confirmed.
Backstory: The Houthis seized Sanaa, the capital, in 2014. A 2022 truce slowed the war for years but collapsed in July. Last month the Houthis took the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as government forces gave way. That narrow lane at the mouth of the Red Sea is key for world shipping. CNBC said they have also gained ground near Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, and are closing in on its last road to Aden.
Why it matters at home: More fighting near Red Sea shipping lanes and Saudi oil sites can push up fuel and freight costs. CNBC, citing Reuters, said Saudi Arabia plans to lead the air war while Yemeni troops fight on the ground. Axios has reported that President Trump is still weighing Saudi requests for U.S. airstrikes.
What to watch: Any Saudi confirmation of Aramco damage, the fight for the Taiz-Aden road, and whether Washington joins the strikes.
Where outlets agree CNBC, Al Jazeera, and Asharq Al-Awsat agree that al-Alimi announced Sunday a military campaign to retake all Houthi-held territory and restore state control across Yemen.
Where they differ The Houthis say their missiles and drones set Aramco sites ablaze, while the Saudi-led coalition calls their Riyadh claim misleading and neither side's battlefield tallies have been verified.