DOMINANT ANGLE
The United States is weighing the dilemma of Donald Trump: supporting the Saudi-Yemeni offensive against the Houthis without opening a new front, as Bab al-Mandeb gives Iran leverage over the United States.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Rachad al-Alimi announced on Sunday, October 4, from Saudi Arabia, an operation to "retake the remaining territories" from the Houthis, who had seized the Red Sea coast and Bab al-Mandeb the previous month (ABC News).
- 02
The US is not directly fighting the Houthis "for now" but is providing intelligence and targeting support, according to American officials cited by Axios.
- 03
According to Axios, CENTCOM viewed strikes in Yemen as a distraction from Iran, and Donald Trump is hesitant between helping Mohammed bin Salman and avoiding a new front.
ANALYSIS
The United States, October 5, 2026. For the American press, the offensive announced on Sunday, October 4, by the President of the Yemeni Presidential Council, Rachad al-Alimi, is of interest to the United States primarily due to its strategic consequences. ABC News, quoting a dispatch, reports that from Saudi Arabia, he declared his intention to "retake the remaining territories" held by the Houthis. The latter achieved their largest territorial conquest in years the previous month, according to ABC, by seizing the Yemeni coast of the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Al-Alimi called on the international community to support his government, which is backed by Riyadh.
Axios emphasizes the global stakes. According to the site, one of the objectives of the operation is to regain control of Bab al-Mandeb, a "vital artery of global trade and Saudi oil exports." The capture of the coast gives the Houthis, and Iran, which supports them, a "powerful lever" over the United States, their Gulf allies, and the global economy. Axios quotes al-Alimi: "We have exhausted all possibilities of de-escalation with the Houthi militias."
Axios describes a counter-offensive that has been prepared for weeks: tens of thousands of soldiers on the ground, Saudi air cover, and the stated objective of retaking Sanaa. The Houthis have fired missiles at Saudi targets, including Aramco installations.
The heart of the American narrative is Washington's position. Despite Riyadh's requests, the United States is not engaging in direct combat against the Houthis "for now." According to American officials cited by Axios, they are providing intelligence and targeting support. Axios writes that Donald Trump is "torn between" the desire to help Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his friend and ally, and the desire to avoid getting bogged down on a new front in the Middle East. The Central Command (CENTCOM) also had serious reservations about strikes in Yemen, seeing them as a distraction from its focus on Iran, according to an American official.
ABC places the announcement in a regional panorama: the President of the Iranian Parliament, the main negotiator of direct talks with the United States earlier in the year, claims that Washington recently transmitted proposals through a mediator, without giving details. The Houthis, meanwhile, have been besieging Taiz for over a decade and have disrupted the road connecting the city to Aden, the seat of the government. Yemen thus appears, from the US perspective, as a piece of the confrontation with Tehran.
