Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured the town of Turbah in southwestern Yemen on Sunday and pushed toward the strategic provincial capital of Taiz on Monday, a blow to Saudi-backed government forces that came shortly before the government announced a major military operation against the rebels, the Associated Press reported.
Turbah sits on the main road linking Taiz with the port city of Aden, the interim seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and has long been a key post for government troops defending Taiz, the AP said. The fighting has revived Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire.
Rashad al-Alimi, whom the AP described as head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council and Reuters called Yemen’s president, said in a televised speech from neighboring Saudi Arabia that the operation aims at “recovering the remaining territories” held by the Houthis. Reuters reported that he said forces would press the offensive until the country is freed from what he called the terrorist militia, and that a military spokesman later urged the Houthis to lay down their weapons.
What We Know So Far
Before Turbah fell, the Houthis had taken several villages and areas on Taiz’s outskirts, which the AP said could pave the way for the rebels to encircle the city, Yemen’s third largest. In its Middle East roundup, the AP said the Houthis have besieged Taiz for more than a decade and that their latest offensive has disrupted a major road to Aden.
Hours after al-Alimi’s announcement, Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki promised “full operational support” to Yemeni forces until the Houthis are eliminated, the AP reported. He also stressed Saudi Arabia’s right to take all necessary measures against rebels who continue to fire missiles and drones at the kingdom.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in a Sunday analysis cited by the AP that losing Turbah “will likely severely constrain” government-aligned forces’ ability to reinforce and resupply front-line positions in Taiz province. The group added that control of all roads in and out of areas north of the town also keeps government forces from retreating out of the city.
The Houthis have held the capital, Sanaa, and much of the populous northwest since 2014, and they have withstood years of attacks by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Western allies while upgrading their weapons with Iranian help, Reuters said.
How the Escalation Unfolded
The AP traced the latest flare-up to mid-July, when the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing the Sanaa airport to stop an unauthorized Iranian flight from landing. The rebels answered with missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government forces, announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and attacked several Saudi-linked vessels.
In early September the Houthis made a swift push down the Red Sea coast, capturing the city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, which gave them control of the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint through which 12% of global trade passes, according to the AP. Reuters described the offensive as capturing the strait and about 150 kilometers (90 miles) of coastline in a matter of weeks, and said it opened a new front in the wider U.S.-Israeli war launched against Iran in February.
The United Nations says the latest violence has killed more than 800 people and wounded more than 3,600, the AP reported. The U.N. migration agency said over 145,000 people have fled their homes inside Yemen and more than 3,000 others have crossed the water into Djibouti. The wider civil war, which began in 2014, has killed more than 150,000 people, the AP said.
Separately, the Houthis said overnight airstrikes hit Sanaa. The Saudi-backed Yemeni military claimed responsibility, saying it struck “vital targets” in Sanaa and in Saada province on the Saudi border, according to the AP.
Other Developments in the Region
Iran and the U.S. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, told an open session of Parliament that Washington recently put forward proposals through a mediator, without offering details, the AP reported. He said Iran’s seven conditions for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran that Iran remains ready for a fair solution through diplomacy but that renewed military confrontation would bring a stronger response, and he rejected a U.S. claim that Iran’s delegation was expelled from the United States after the U.N. General Assembly, saying it left on a previously arranged schedule, according to the AP.
Shipping. A British military monitor, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, said a commercial tanker reported explosions “in close proximity” about 60 nautical miles south of Mokha, with the crew reported safe, per the AP. The UKMTO also said a projectile struck a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and damaged its engine room, though it was unclear who launched it or when. In a separate report the U.S. Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center said three tankers were struck Saturday while transiting the strait, the AP reported.
Iran’s oil ministry. State television reported that Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad resigned and that President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted it, naming Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company, as caretaker, per the AP. No reason was given.
Gaza. Health officials at Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle killed one Palestinian and wounded at least 11, while Israel’s military said it targeted a known Hamas militant, the AP reported. Accounts of a second incident differed: the Turkish aid group Deniz Feneri Association said one of its volunteers was killed, while Israel’s military said it killed a Hamas militant it described as the group’s director. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,445 Palestinians since the ceasefire nearly a year ago, and the AP noted that seven Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza in that time.
Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed in a prerecorded statement that the group fired missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and the Kurais area, about 150 kilometers southeast of the capital. He gave no date or evidence, and the AP noted that a fire broke out at an Aramco refinery Saturday with no cause given.
Why This Matters
The fall of Turbah, which ISW’s analysis says tightens the squeeze on Taiz’s supply and retreat routes, comes as the government declares its most ambitious campaign against the Houthis in the current escalation and as Riyadh publicly commits support. Reuters said the Houthis’ September gains also gave them new leverage over the shipping route through Bab el-Mandeb, linking Yemen’s battlefield to the wider confrontation with Iran.
What Happens Next
The government said it is mobilizing troops across the areas it holds and has asked the international community for support, the AP reported. The Houthis have not publicly responded to the announcement, and the AP said Saudi Arabia continues to face missile and drone fire from the rebels.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and Reuters
