By Mohammed Ghobari and Jana Choukeir
DUBAI — Houthi fighters advanced Monday to seize strategic heights in Yemen, aiming to cut off the Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed forces, hours after reports emerged that President Donald Trump canceled planned U.S. airstrikes at the last minute.
A rapid offensive by the Iran-backed group this month has widened the Middle East conflict and further jeopardized global energy supplies.
Washington has repeatedly declined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s pleas to intervene in Yemen. The Houthis said Saturday they fired on Riyadh, where loud booms and smoke columns were reported near the airport. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the strikes.
The New York Times reported Sunday that the Trump administration had prepared airstrikes after renewed appeals from the crown prince, but Trump aborted them even as aircraft were being loaded with bombs. Reuters could not verify the report, and U.S. Central Command did not respond to requests for comment.
The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital since 2014, seized the Red Sea coast this month in a swift advance that routed the internationally recognized government, backed by Saudi Arabia and based in the south.
Saudi Arabia has launched hundreds of strikes on Houthi positions in the highlands, according to the Houthis, but the air campaign has not halted the fighters’ progress as government forces retreated.
The United Nations says nearly 700 people have been killed and thousands injured in the latest flare-up. More than 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced within the country, and thousands more fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.
Five Yemeni military sources told Reuters the Houthis are now targeting the Kahboub Mountains in Taiz and Lahij provinces, which separate the Red Sea coast from government-held territory.
Fighting has concentrated around Al-Wazi’iyah district in Taiz and Ras al-Ara along the Indian Ocean coast between the Red Sea mouth and the government stronghold of Aden.
The Houthis aim to secure their rear around the Bab al-Mandab Strait by taking the heights, enabling new fronts to protect positions captured near Dhubab on the Red Sea and Perim Island in the strait.
The surge in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis places Trump in a difficult position: pressured to defend a key ally but reluctant to expand the unpopular war against Iran launched in February.
The U.S. bombed the Houthis for two months in early 2025, but Trump called off the strikes after reaching a ceasefire. The Houthis’ control of Bab al-Mandab threatens Saudi Arabia’s main alternative oil export route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia has increased shipments through Hormuz, where tankers shuttle with transponders off, charging up to 25% of cargo value. Shipments transfer to other vessels in the Indian Ocean bound for Asia. Satellite data shows Saudi exports through Hormuz reached 2.9 million barrels per day, up from 700,000 in August, partially offsetting a halt at the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Global crude has eased toward $100 a barrel after nearing $110 last week, though refined fuel prices remain at records. U.S. retail diesel hit a record $6.51 a gallon Monday, up from $3.75 before the February war.
In the latest Hormuz incident, Britain’s UKMTO said a ship entering the strait was struck by a projectile, causing minor crew injuries.
Diplomacy remains stalled since a June interim U.S.-Iran agreement collapsed. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian is due in New York Tuesday for the UN General Assembly, his first visit since Trump launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran alongside Israel in February.
