Yemen and Saudi forces launch massive air and ground assault to retake Houthi territories
Yemen's army, backed by Saudi jets, carried out over 1,000 strikes and began a ground offensive to recapture Houthi-held areas, including Sanaa, as the rebels advance along the Red Sea.
Yemen's internationally recognised government announced a sweeping counteroffensive to reclaim all territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis, deploying the Yemeni military and Saudi-led air power. Over 1,000 strikes were reported, while roughly 100 Saudi warplanes flew sorties at dawn, targeting artillery, rocket launchers and supply lines. The offensive includes a push toward the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and comes after the rebels captured key Red Sea coastline and declared a maritime blockade on Saudi vessels.
The Houthis warned that Saudi airspace is a combat zone, except for routes over Mecca and Medina, and a recent strike halted pumping on the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea. The conflict has tightened global oil supplies, prompting Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser to warn of thin stockpiles, and the siege of Taiz has raised concerns about a possible turning point in the war. Humanitarian agencies note more than 184,000 people displaced as fighting intensifies.
Why it matters
The renewed Yemen offensive threatens regional stability, disrupts global oil supplies and worsens a dire humanitarian crisis.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTBoth camps report the same scale of the Saudi-led assault, but centrist coverage stresses the counteroffensive’s political goals and oil-market impact, while right-leaning coverage highlights the operation’s name, Saudi military support and its significance as the war’s most active front.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the assault as a sweeping counteroffensive by Yemen’s recognised government and notes its tightening effect on global oil supplies.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage frames the assault as a Saudi-backed “Operation Dawn of Yemen,” emphasizing the coalition’s massive air power and its status as the most active front in the wider conflict.
The right emphasises
- "Operation Dawn of Yemen" involving roughly 100 warplanes
- round-the-clock air support for ground forces
- analysts calling it the most active front of the broader Middle East war
How this story developed
- Sep 11 Smoke spotted near Saudi East-West oil pipeline as Houthi advances intensify
- Sep 24 Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf producers have rerouted oil through spare pipeline capacity and a U.S.-protected corridor, keeping global supply steady despite higher prices.
- Sep 25 President Pezeshkian linked the Strait of Hormuz dispute to U.S. sanctions and the naval blockade in his UN address.
- Sep 25 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New York, the first Iranian head of state to set foot in the United States.
- Sep 26 Iran awaited an official U.S. reply to its UN‑transmitted peace initiative.
- Sep 26 In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Han Zheng highlighted China's view that global progress should be built on development and open cooperation. He warned that protectionist policies benefit no one and reiterated support for multilateral dialogue. The address also touched on the Middle East conflict, AI and the Belt and Road initiative, but did not mention Taiwan despite heightened US-China tensions. Analysts noted the speech was routine, with President Xi absent and senior officials rotating representation at the UN.
- Sep 26 Gulf leaders scheduled a meeting with Donald Trump to seek a diplomatic path with Iran.
- Sep 27 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will remain resolute and not retreat despite President Donald Trump's rejection of Iran’s seven‑day ceasefire and Strait of Hormuz reopening proposal.
- Sep 28 Han Zheng’s address emphasized Belt and Road cooperation with three‑quarters of participating nations.
- Sep 29 The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on ten individuals and firms accused of obtaining weapons components for Iran's defence ministry.
- Oct 2 The United States has now sanctioned Iran's automotive and railway sectors.
- Oct 3 A second tanker was hit east of Oman, adding to the earlier incident in the strait.
- Oct 5 The G7 announced a release of diesel and crude from emergency reserves.
- Oct 5 A U.S. naval blockade has caused a backlog of hundreds of trucks at the Gürbulak crossing, with waits up to five days.
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