DUBAI, Sept 21 - Houthi forces are pressing to take high ground in Yemen, aiming to cut the Red Sea coastline off from the remaining territories held by forces loyal to the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government. The push to secure mountain positions comes after a rapid Houthi advance this month that expanded the conflict into new terrain and intensified concerns over global energy routes.
According to multiple military sources inside Yemen, fighters linked to the Houthi movement have focused operations on the Kahboub Mountains in Taiz and Lahij provinces. Those heights form a natural barrier between the Red Sea coast - recently captured by the Houthis - and government-held areas in the south. Combat has concentrated on the outskirts of the remote Al-Wazi'iyah district in Taiz and along Ras al-Ara on the Indian Ocean coast, between the mouth of the Red Sea and the government base in Aden.
Securing the elevated terrain would allow the Houthis to protect the rear of their forces that have advanced around Dhubab on the Red Sea and on Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, according to the Yemeni sources. Control of those heights would also enable the group to open new fronts and better defend exposed positions they captured earlier in the campaign.
The wider military campaign has unfolded rapidly. The Houthis, who have held Yemen's capital since 2014, launched a lightning offensive this month that routed forces of the internationally recognised government in several coastal areas and extended Houthi control into ports and straits that are critical to international shipping.
Saudi Arabia has responded with a series of intensive air strikes targeting Houthi positions in the highlands. The Saudi campaign has involved hundreds of strikes in recent days, according to Houthi statements, but coalition air power has so far achieved only limited success in halting the fighters' ground gains as government units allied with Riyadh have retreated in the face of the advance.
The human toll of the fighting is significant. United Nations figures cited in official counts show that nearly 700 people have been killed and thousands more injured in the recent flare-up. Internal displacement has surged, with more than 120,000 Yemenis reported to have fled their homes inside the country, and thousands more taking to small boats to cross the Red Sea to Africa.
Compounding the military developments, a U.S. newspaper reported that the administration had readied airstrikes against the Houthis but called them off at the last minute, even as crews were loading ordnance onto aircraft. The U.S. military's Central Command did not respond to an email seeking comment on those reports.
Washington has repeatedly rebuffed urgent requests from Saudi Arabia's leadership to intervene more directly in Yemen's fighting. The United States bombed Houthi targets for two months in early 2025, but the current administration halted those strikes after a ceasefire was reached, and has largely remained on the sidelines since then.
The expanded Houthi control of territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has immediate implications for oil shipments and for the logistics of Saudi crude exports. That southern passage is a key alternative route Saudi Arabia uses to bypass potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the Red Sea disruption, Saudi authorities have increased the volume of oil transiting through Hormuz, employing a small number of tankers that have been shuttling back and forth with transponders turned off and charging steep fees, sometimes amounting to a quarter of the cargo's value, to compensate for the wartime risk.
Satellite tracking data show Saudi exports routing through Hormuz have risen recently to around 2.9 million barrels per day, up from about 700,000 barrels per day in August, partly offsetting halted loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu. That re-routing of flows has helped cap the global price of crude, which retreated nearer to $100 a barrel after approaching $110 the prior week. Still, refined fuel prices for consumers remain at record highs.
In retail markets, the price signal is stark: U.S. pump prices for diesel reached another record on Monday, rising above $6.51 a gallon. By comparison, diesel averaged around $3.75 a gallon before the administration's campaign in February that expanded the conflict alongside Israel, underscoring the impact of the broader regional war on downstream fuel costs.
Maritime security incidents in and near Hormuz have continued amid the tensions. In the most recent reported case, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a vessel transiting into the strait was struck by a projectile, producing minor injuries to crew members aboard. Such incidents add to the risk profile for commercial shipping and to the insurance and security costs that shippers and energy firms must bear.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve elements of the wider confrontation have largely stalled since an interim agreement between the United States and Iran in June collapsed within weeks. Iran's president is scheduled to travel to New York this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly, marking a high-level visit since the launch of a major military campaign by the administration earlier this year that it has called Operation Epic Fury.
The current sequence of battlefield gains, air strikes and diplomatic standstill has tightened scrutiny on supply chains and energy markets. For industry players and consumers alike, the persistence of high refined fuel prices amid shipping disruptions highlights the downstream effects of frontline military shifts and the limited near-term options to relieve those pressures while high-seas and narrow straits remain contested.
Analysis note: The situation is fluid, with multiple frontlines and economic channels affected by the fighting. The strategic pursuit of mountain positions underscores how control of terrain can directly influence maritime access and, therefore, energy flows and fuel costs.