Yemen's Houthis reach strategic island at mouth of vital shipping lane

There was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia of any incident in the area. The Saudi government media office and state oil giant Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the smoke visible in the imagery verified by Reuters.

Aramco has used the East-West pipeline to ramp up crude flows from Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast to the Red Sea to its west after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began six months ago, prompting Tehran to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi crude supply fell 2.3 million barrels per day on the month in August to 6 million barrels per day, the lowest level in more than three decades, the International Energy Agency said on Friday (September 11), partly due to the targeting of ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by groups linked to Yemen’s Houthis.

Global oil prices were on track to end the week above $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-May, though they were slightly lower on Friday (September 11) after the Financial Times reported that Foreign Ministers in West Asia were trying to work out a temporary deal to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Yemeni government forces plot counter-offensive

Yemeni government forces, meanwhile, indicated they would try to retake areas captured by the Houthi militants in their lightning offensive this week along the Red Sea coastline.

They announced they would deploy weapons and aircraft to eliminate any movement of the “terrorist” Houthi militias in strategic areas, including the road leading to the coastal city of Mocha, which the militant group captured on Thursday (September 10) along with the Red Sea islands of Hanish.

Military spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nazili called on civilians to avoid using the route between the city of Taiz and Mocha and steer clear of equipment belonging to the Houthis, mountain fighters who withstood years of devastating Saudi air strikes during Yemen’s civil war.

Fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government forces has intensified in recent days, with the Iran-aligned group shifting its focus to control over Yemen’s long coastline instead of just the north and the country’s most populous areas.

Reuters reported on Thursday (September 10) that the dramatic Houthi advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week came with direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seeking to open a new front in Tehran’s war with the U.S., according to Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources.

Iran told the Houthis last week to escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, and promised more funding, weapons and senior officers to help them do so, two Iranian sources said.

While Iran describes the Houthis as an ally, it publicly denies giving them military direction, saying they are “not a proxy”.

Trump rejects Saudi calls to bomb Houthis, Axios reports

Saudi Arabia has been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen but not the strategic areas the group has seized this week.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S. President Donald Trump twice on Thursday (September 10) and urged him to launch strikes against the Houthis, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.

Trump rejected the request, and U.S. officials said the administration does not intend to take direct military action against the Houthis at this time, the report said.

According to Axios, the U.S. is increasingly concerned about the rapidly escalating conflict in Yemen and is stepping up support for Saudi Arabia while seeking to avoid direct military involvement.

Gulf Foreign Ministers plan to meet their Iranian counterpart in a push by Oman and Iran to secure buy-in for a temporary deal to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday (September 11).

The gathering is scheduled to be held on Monday (Septembre 14) in the Omani coastal city of Salalah, the report said, citing two people briefed on the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.