In a strategically-timed message to the Saudi rulers, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Yemeni Ansarallah movement, warned of an imminent escalation of clashes on 7 July:
We will respond in kind: banks for banks… the airport in Riyadh for the airport in Sanaa… and seaports for seaports.
The warning followed a recent surge in threats from Sanaa directed at Saudi Arabia. The most notable of these occurred earlier this month when Yemen issued an ultimatum demanding that Riyadh expedite the return of detained Yemeni pilgrims to Sanaa on a Yemenia Airways flight that had been delayed for a week. The Saudis complied within the three-day deadline, having understood “the language of force.”
Ansarallah’s escalation is directly tied to actions taken by the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government under US influence, aimed at deterring Sanaa from continuing its naval blockade in support of Gaza. This was explicitly spelled out by Houthi, who warned the Saudis against colluding with the US in its efforts to undermine the region’s Axis of Resistance.
Economic aggression renews conflict
In early April, the Aden-based Central Bank of Yemen (CBY), aligned with the Riyadh-backed government, ordered banks in Sanaa to relocate their headquarters to the southern port city within 60 days or face sanctions under anti-terrorism, corruption, and money laundering laws.
The de-facto government in Sanaa perceived this as an attempt to pressure it into halting its support for Gaza, following a direct US warning backed by threats of renewed Saudi aggression. Instead of backing down, Sanaa expanded its Red Sea operations toward the Mediterranean Sea, having already moved into waterways, including the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
Two weeks ago, Saudi maneuvers to limit flight restrictions from Sanaa airport and detain Yemeni Hajj pilgrims in Jeddah prompted further threats from Ansarallah’s leadership.
Houthi explicitly threatened Saudi Arabia with severe consequences for these actions and its support for Israel against Yemen.
Following his speech, Saudi Arabia appeared to reverse its stance by instructing the Aden government to postpone its decision on banks. This move was taken up by UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, who requested the head of the Saudi-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad al-Alimi, to “postpone the decision to withdraw the licenses of commercial banks until the end of August and engage in negotiations under the United Nations’ auspices to discuss economic developments.”
Sanaa swiftly informed the UN envoy of its “categorical rejection of the attempt to whitewash the issue as an internal affair,” according to Hussein al-Ezzi, Deputy Foreign Minister in the Sanaa government. Ezzi says that “the use of the language of postponement and deportation in matters related to the rights of the Yemeni people is unacceptable.”
Sanaa’s refusal indicates a new phase in its efforts to lift the blockade, emphasizing how its support operations in Gaza and strikes against US and UK-led military operations on Yemen demand a change in how it is approached.
Yemeni military readiness
As soon as Yemen’s Ansarallah-allied armed forces announced their retaliatory preparedness against Saudi airports, banks, and ports – usually tied to the siege on the Yemeni people – and Riyadh’s actions in support of Israel, the Yemeni military issued a warning statement on Friday.
The statement, which announced a naval military operation, declared:
The Yemeni Armed Forces, in the face of the hostile moves of the great Yemeni people by the Saudi regime, in implementation of American directives and in service of the Israeli enemy, to confirm its military readiness to implement popular demands. In a legitimate response to those moves.
The readiness announced by the Yemeni Armed Forces indicates its preparation for military action against targets in Saudi Arabia, pending leadership decisions. Sanaa is preparing for a multi-front war from a defensive position and has developed a diverse and extensive target bank over the past two years, resulting in increased damage potential.
But Yemen’s ambitions are broader than mere military responses. Hinting at its varied strategic calculations, a senior member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, Mohammed Nasser al-Bukhaiti, said in a post on X, “We will defeat the Saudi regime not through our force of arms, but by its alignment with the most tyrannical and criminal regimes, and our support for the oppressed and marginalized.”
Houthi’s threats are not mere warnings, either. Hizam al-Assad, a member of Ansarallah’s political bureau and Shura Council, confirms to The Cradle that there is “a general mobilization and a resumption of fighting to deliver a blow to the Saudi regime by targeting its economic, developmental, vital, and military resources.”
Assad attributes the resumption of fighting to the continued “Saudi regime’s aggression against the Yemeni people, along with its conspiracies with the Americans and Israelis against the nation and its just causes.”
The Saudi regime has provided services to the Israeli enemy during this crucial period by opening a land path to supply the Israelis with arms and supplies, thus, the Saudi regime declares hostility and alignment with Israel against the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza, participating in committing heinous massacres in Gaza.
No clear Saudi position has emerged publicly. Riyadh will likely begin contact through intermediaries like Oman or attempt direct communication with Sanaa to avoid escalation, considering that the latter’s actions could lead to significant economic damage in Saudi Arabia.
This would not be the first time the Saudis have experienced a hit to their economy – Yemen has regularly launched retaliatory strikes on the kingdom’s energy facilities and vital infrastructure, disabling half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production as far back as 2019. If the conflict escalates again and circumstances worsen, the consequences on the Saudi economy, including its large projects like NEOM, could be greater.
Riyadh’s miscalculation of Sanaa’s resolve
For nine months since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Saudi Arabia has tried to remain neutral in any aggression against Yemen. It has publicly refused to participate in US-led naval operations or allow its territory to be used for airstrikes.
The US and Israelis were informed of the first Yemeni strikes toward the occupied territories on 18 October 2023, after Sanaa announced that a wave of missiles and drones would be launched targeting Israel, not Saudi Arabia.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has tried to establish new facts on the ground inside Yemen, with the Central Bank’s move to Aden being one example. Riyadh has secretly facilitated land passage toward Israel as compensation for Sanaa’s closure of the port of Eilat after preventing ships from reaching it.
Recently, it has implemented US demands related to the blockade on the Yemeni people, showing no desire to move forward with peace talks with Yemen, which could have led to the end of bilateral aggressions and lifted the blockade.
In light of these factors, it is clear that Riyadh has misjudged Sanaa’s position. Yemen has now prioritized supporting the Palestinian people, considering it an opportunity to freeze any practical steps related to stopping the nine-year Saudi–Emirati aggression.
The Saudis have bet on regional variables favoring the US and Israelis, hoping to free themselves from many pressures. This is evidenced by their continuation of Washington-backed negotiations on “normalization” with Tel Aviv, despite regional realities in which US deterrence has been weakened, and Israel struggles to achieve its declared goals in its Gaza war.
In response, Sanaa believes it must make the Saudis understand that their calculations are wrong and that future strikes will occur if Riyadh does not change its regional policy.