&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Houthi gains leave US and Saudi Arabia without clear counteroffensive plan")
Recent advances by the Houthis, including the capture of a strategically important Red Sea island, have added to turmoil in a region already reeling from the US war with Iran and deepened a severe global energy crisis. Neither the US nor its key ally Saudi Arabia has a clear plan to push the group back, multiple sources told CNN.
US officials acknowledge the Houthis aim to eventually control the Bab al Mandeb Strait, but the Trump administration has signalled little interest in using the American military against them, relying instead on Riyadh. Even with added US intelligence and targeting support, Saudi Arabia has not stopped the group from taking key coastal towns in Yemen, and sources told CNN they doubt it can do so alone. "No offensive strikes," a US official said.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks after a 2022 UN-brokered truce brought relative calm. On Saturday, the Houthis said they hit "sensitive" sites in Riyadh and an Aramco facility in Yanbu with missiles and drones. Alerts sounded across the capital, the first direct threat to it since the escalation began in July. Reuters video showed black smoke near Riyadh's main airport, though the cause was unclear. The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences destroyed a ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh at dawn and thwarted other attacks, including on Yanbu. No casualties were reported.
President Donald Trump's stated red line is direct US participation in strikes on the Houthis. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked for such strikes in two calls last week and was rebuffed, sources told CNN. Trump told reporters in Ireland that the Houthis had called to say they did not want to fight the US and were unhappy with only one country, Saudi Arabia. Former US diplomat Barbara Leaf called the remarks "shocking" in comments. A US official said the ceasefire with the Houthis was solidified at a meeting in Oman this weekend.
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Regional officials told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has sought air defence support from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt.
Many Gulf sources see the offensive as a new front that could prolong the Iran war. A first GCC-Iran meeting since the war began was cancelled this week after Saudi Arabia declined to attend, amid concerns over a potential Oman-Iran deal on the Strait of Hormuz, regional sources said. Former US ambassador Joey Hood said the Saudis risk negotiating "with a gun on the table".
Sources also doubted the Houthis can be beaten militarily. A regional source told CNN force would weaken but not end them, while a Gulf official said, "No one wants to fight alone."
