Reuters: Saudi Arabia plans attack on Yemeni youth movement to open Red Sea waterway

Reuters quoted several officials familiar with the matter as saying that Saudi Arabia is planning to launch an attack on the Yemeni militant youth movement that controls the Bab el-Mandab Strait, a choke point in the Red Sea, aiming to open up this shipping artery connecting Asia and the Mediterranean. In this regard, the United States, Saudi Arabia's important ally, is temporarily unwilling to directly intervene in the strike.

Saudi Arabia is expected to launch a military operation in the coming weeks, which will be led by Yemeni ground forces supervised by Riyadh and launched in conjunction with Saudi air strikes. However, despite military assistance from the United States, Europe and other regional allies, direct involvement in the fighting is unlikely.

U.S. news network Axios pointed out that Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman once again requested the United States to carry out air strikes against youth movement targets when he communicated with U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth via telegraph on the 1st to discuss attack plans.

U.S. officials said that Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for the Middle East theater, has reservations about air strikes against the youth movement for fear of affecting the U.S. military's focus on its mission in Iran. Washington currently has no plans to directly participate in the operation, but if the operation encounters difficulties, the decision may change. The United States is providing Saudi Arabia with almost all support except direct combat. For example, it has listed more than 200 air strike target intelligence in the past two weeks, which has put tremendous pressure on the youth movement.