Following the Houthi rebels' takeover of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for the global economy, Yemen's military is accusing U.S. Central Command of failing to provide assistance in the face of the Houthi advance. According to CNN, as the Houthis moved toward the strategic port city of Al-Mokha, Yemeni army generals made an urgent request for air cover — but the assistance never arrived. Senior Yemeni officials also accused Saudi Arabia of responding slowly to the Houthis' surprise offensive.
A senior Yemeni official told CNN that "the Houthis committed everything they had – waves upon waves of fighters … along with their available ballistic missiles and weapons."
The Houthis entered Al-Mokha chanting, 'Death to America, death to Israel'
The official said he contacted U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, and was assured that the United States was "watching the situation closely and that Saudi air support was coming."
But, he said, "the air support never came, and Mokha has now fallen."
A senior Yemeni official told The Associated Press that officials were stunned that the Saudi air force had made no attempt to prevent Mokha from falling.
The official said Saudi Arabia may not have received a green light from the United States to carry out strikes inside Yemen. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to reports over the past day, urged U.S. President Donald Trump to attack the Houthis, but Trump declined to intervene. The White House did not respond to inquiries about whether it intended to intervene in Yemen.
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Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait; the Houthis no longer need advanced weapons to attack ships
Al-Mokha was not the Houthis' final stop. From there, they continued south and, within two days, completed their takeover of Dhubab and Perim Island, also known as Mayyun, which lies directly in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, about 20.5 kilometers from the coast of Djibouti on the opposite side.
The importance of Bab al-Mandab has only grown since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Amr al-Bidh, a senior official in Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, or STC, which has fought the Houthis, told CNN: "The Houthis don’t need to use advanced weapons to close Bab al-Mandab. They can just use a cannon on a car."
Bin Salman has few options
During years of war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has failed to defeat the Houthis through its allies. Whatever course the Saudi crown prince chooses could carry a heavy price, with no guarantee of success.
Saudi Arabia could escalate its military response and try to force the Houthis to retreat. But the cost could be high, including to Saudi energy infrastructure on which the kingdom depends.
"The kingdom already faced this in the past, but Houthi weaponry is more sophisticated now than it was back then, and the Saudis likely have less interceptor missiles available as a result of the U.S.-Iran conflict," said Sherwan Ali, Middle East research manager at ACLED, which tracks conflicts.
They spoke but stopped short of action; Trump and Mohammed bin Salman
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Another option for Riyadh is a diplomatic solution, either with the Houthis or with their Iranian patron.
But the Houthis have demands that the Saudis may view as significant. They want the blockade lifted, a move that could help them grow stronger over the long term.
Iran, for its part, has little interest in stabilizing the situation unless it can secure substantial concessions from the United States.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and is therefore crucial to international trade, has become even more critical since Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the war with the United States in late February, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.
The closure of Hormuz caused oil prices to surge dramatically, and the major concern now is that greater Houthi control over Bab al-Mandab could further deepen turmoil in energy markets.
The move could also strengthen Tehran's bargaining position in negotiations with Trump.
Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014 against the backdrop of the Arab Spring protests earlier in the decade, which led in 2011 to the ouster of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh after decades in power.
Three years later, taking advantage of the weakness of Yemen's newly formed government, Houthi rebels launched a broad offensive and seized the capital, Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia viewed the development as a direct threat to its security and regional influence. In 2015, it formed a military coalition of Arab states and launched a large-scale campaign that included thousands of airstrikes, a naval and air blockade and support for Yemeni government forces, in an effort to halt the Houthi advance and restore the government to power.