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Saudi Arabia preps for ‘major’ land, sea operations against Ansarallah in Yemen: Report

The Cradle | July 31, 2026

Saudi Arabia is “preparing” for a massive and “major” military assault against Yemen, which would involve both land and sea operations aimed at breaking the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) blockade on Saudi shipping, The Guardian reported on 30 July.

Yemeni sources claimed Saudi military troops have been “withdrawing from the east of Yemen in what could be preparation for a land offensive.”

“The troop movements inside Yemen involve concentrating forces for what could be an attack on Al-Bayda, a governorate in central southern Yemen captured by [Ansarallah]” between 2020 and 2021, the sources added.

The report coincided with a Saudi Defense Ministry statement saying the kingdom was preparing to form a multinational naval coalition for the Red Sea.

“The Ministry of Defense is hosting an international meeting to discuss the Kingdom’s initiative to establish a multinational maritime defense coalition,” it said, adding that “the meeting was attended by chiefs of staff and their representatives from 43 countries, along with the EU Delegation … out of a total of 51 invited countries and organizations.”

“The participation reflected the international community’s commitment to strengthening maritime defense cooperation and unifying efforts to safeguard the security of maritime routes.”

It added that 14 countries, including Turkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, and Djibouti, issued a joint statement backing the Saudi-proposed multinational “maritime defense coalition,” as it is being called.

“Membership will remain open to all countries wishing to join the coalition,” the Saudi Defense Ministry statement went on to say.

The kingdom has reportedly asked the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and others to join.

But international naval forces are “overstretched,” western diplomats were cited as saying in a Reuters report on 29 July.

Eleven days ago, the YAF announced a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in response to over a decade of war and siege imposed on Yemen by the kingdom. Saudi tankers have already been struck multiple times in recent days.

Sanaa has also struck a Saudi airport and a major Aramco energy facility in response to new Saudi airstrikes on Yemen this month – the kingdom’s first major attacks against Yemeni civilian infrastructure in years.

The Aramco facility was set ablaze and has been forced shut by Yemen’s operations.

Data released on 26 July revealed that Saudi crude oil loading volumes at the Red Sea port of Yanbu have plummeted by 40 percent due to Yemen’s blockade and retaliatory strikes.

Saudi Arabia waged war against Yemen in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition, after Ansarallah seized the capital and ousted the Saudi-backed president from Sanaa. The UAE was a major part of this war, which was also supported logistically by the UK, US, and Israel.

A 2023 Saudi–Yemeni peace process nearly resulted in an agreement between the two sides. The peace talks stalled, yet prevented a major escalation from erupting.

The kingdom for years continued to attack Yemen and impose its illegal and deadly blockade on Yemeni ports and airports.

The Saudi-led war on Yemen that began over a decade ago resulted in an unprecedented famine and the deaths of hundreds of thousands.

Yet the war failed to bring about a defeat of Ansarallah as Riyadh had expected.

Following 7 October 2023, Ansarallah launched military operations against Israel and a naval blockade on ships heading to Israeli ports in response to the genocide.

It also carried out operations in support of Lebanon, which has been under Israeli attacks and occupation since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Major EU naval operations, as well as the former US administration’s attempt to form a maritime coalition against Ansarallah following the start of the Gaza genocide, failed blatantly.

A summer 2025 campaign of US strikes against Ansarallah, under US President Donald Trump, also failed to impact the Ansarallah-led YAF.

July 31, 2026 - Posted by | Wars for Israel | , ,

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