The war and elusive hopes of peace in Yemen

On Sunday, Yemeni President Rashad Al-Alimi announced the start of major operations to retake the areas of the country occupied by the Houthis. The immediate aim is to end the rebellion, extend government authority throughout the country, restore peace and stability in Yemen, and secure Bab Al-Mandab and international shipping lanes.

The president added, however, that the eventual goal is economic: “Recovery and reconstruction; fixing damaged roads, electricity, water and other public works; facilitating the return of those displaced by the war; and resuming economic activity.”

The war should not distract from this goal or from dealing with the dire humanitarian conditions in Yemen and resuming the search for an end to this conflict.

The government’s decision to take military action came after the Houthis ended the four-year-long truce and attacked government-held areas, managing to get all the way along the Red Sea coast to Bab Al-Mandab. Controlling the waterway would strengthen the rebels’ stranglehold on passing international trade.

The Houthi campaign against the government started in July, ending the truce that began in April 2022. At the same time as they were attacking targets inside Yemen, the Houthis launched sustained missile and drone attacks against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and international shipping in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab.

Following a request by Al-Alimi, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen expressed its full support for the government’s mobilization to reverse Houthi advances and the broader objective of restoring its authority throughout the country. On Monday, the coalition launched scores of airstrikes in support of government troops, while the Houthis continued their attacks on Saudi civilian targets.

Repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, meant the mechanisms of the newly founded Makkah Joint Defense Agreement were activated. Its Political and Strategic Committee met in Riyadh on Monday to discuss these developments. The committee is composed of the foreign and defense ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye.

It decided to “move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the parties,” according to a statement issued after the meeting.

In other words, the countries agreed to “activate collective deterrence measures within the framework of the alliance in response to the attacks and all those responsible for them,” according to a post on X by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.

In addition to the Makkah pact, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy close military cooperation under their 2025 bilateral mutual defense pact, the 1982 military cooperation agreement and other instruments concluded bilaterally, which include the deployment of forces and materiel between the two countries.

The Yemeni government’s campaign succeeded in dislodging the Houthis from Bab Al-Mandab, a significant achievement, and retook much of the territory seized by the rebels in September.

The Houthi escalation in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia and international shipping appears to be at odds with the reduced military activity in the Gulf, where the US and Iran are engaged in indirect talks.

Given the multiplicity of factions in Iran, the Houthis seem to be aligned with the hard-liners who have advised against a diplomatic accommodation with the US. Members of Iran’s parliament aligned with the Paydari Front this week filed a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, accusing him of meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month. The move revealed divisions within Iran on whether to continue the war or pursue a diplomatic accommodation with Washington to end it.

Those hard-liners have also called on Iran’s proxies to continue the fight. They appear to believe that the US administration is so focused on the Nov. 3 midterm elections and on how to keep the Republican Party’s majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate that it will avoid any military action that could adversely affect its chances.

The Houthi escalation in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia seems to be based on the same assumption, especially since President Donald Trump indicated that the US would not get involved — i.e., isolating the conflict to avoid an adverse reaction among voters.

The Houthis have borrowed a page from Iran’s playbook in the Gulf by attacking civilian targets, including airports and energy installations in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, every time they are under military pressure.

The international community is more united in its support of the government than it ever has been since the start of the conflict. The Houthis have been designated as a terrorist group by many countries, especially as a result of their repeated attacks on maritime shipping in the past three years, repeated attacks on civilian targets and disruption of energy supply chains.

The UN Security Council has issued multiple resolutions in support of Yemen’s legitimate government, including Resolution 2216, which was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, meaning it may be implemented through the use of force.

Since 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Oman and others have all tried to resolve the situation peacefully, but the Houthis have frustrated every effort and have refused to even sit at the negotiating table to reach a political settlement with the government. They have driven the UN out of Yemen through the detention of scores of UN staff, a move that has worsened the humanitarian situation for millions of Yemenis.

In light of these conditions, the Yemeni government’s decision to take military action is of course fully justified. It has now been more than 12 years since the Houthi rebellion began, when the group took over the capital Sanaa in September 2014. The Houthis’ recent escalation has revealed their real intentions of seizing the rest of Yemen and controlling Bab Al-Mandab.

What is important now is unifying the Yemeni forces to defeat the Houthis, who represent only a small faction. The government has recognized the south’s legitimate aspirations and Al-Alimi again this week expressed its commitment to the outcome of the south-south dialogue, hosted by Saudi Arabia, and to a “fair and comprehensive resolution of the southern question,” referring to the political demands of the southern regions of the country.

Southern forces are now fighting alongside their northern brothers under a unified command led by the government. However, there are still some discordant voices against this necessary unity, at times disrupting the war effort, even when the Houthis attack southern targets. Under present conditions, issues such as the southern question should be resolved through political dialogue, while unifying against Houthi attempts at division.

The war should not distract from attempts to resolve the wider conflict between the Houthis and the government. The ongoing battles may provide an opening that should be seized by the parties and mediators, especially now that the war has extended to Bab Al-Mandab and international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

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