Saudi Arabia And The U.S. Are Trying To Keep Yemen's Houthis From Joining The War On Iran's Side
- 22.03.2026, 15:45
The bet is on diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia is trying to negotiate with the ruling Shiite group Ansar Allah in northern Yemen so that the Houthis do not join Iran in the war against the United States and Israel. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing a U.S. official. According to him, Riyadh relies on diplomacy: the authorities maintain contacts with the Houthis, relying on the non-aggression agreement reached in 2022. In turn, the US and Israel are trying to act as cautiously as possible and avoid steps that could provoke the group's involvement in the war, the interlocutor added.
The joining of the Houthis to the conflict will automatically expand its geography. "It will really raise the stakes. It will draw the Suez Canal and the Egyptians into the conflict, and it will force Saudi Arabia even deeper into the conflict," said Adam Baron, a research fellow at the New America think tank specializing in Yemen and the Gulf.
The fear is that the Houthis control strategic sea lanes. During the Gaza war, the group effectively paralyzed traffic through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, forcing ships to choose routes that bypassed Africa. Now, amid Iran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, another trade artery - the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which provides 12% of all oil and 8% of all liquefied natural gas shipping, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden - could be at risk.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Saudi Arabia's alternative route for oil exports - through the port of Yanbu - also passes close to Houthi-controlled territories. This makes the region extremely vulnerable in the event of an escalation. "If you're Iran and your goal is to increase pressure by cutting off another key shipping network, then obviously the Houthis are the easiest way to do that," Baron said.
The group itself has allowed the possibility of joining the war against the US and Israel. "We have our finger on the trigger. Yemen's entry into the conflict is only a matter of time," Mohammed al-Bahiti, a member of the Houthis' politburo, said last week. For his part, senior Ansar Allah warlord Abed al-Thawr did not rule out that Yemen could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait once a decision is made to support Iran, which has long helped the Houthis by supplying them with weapons, drones and intelligence.