Iran and its allies pressed the US and allied Gulf states on two fronts on Sunday, as Saudi-backed forces retreated in their battle against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen and Iran itself fired drones at US bases in Bahrain. In Yemen, Saudi Arabia's campaign against the Houthis suffered a major setback when its allies, fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised Yemeni government, pulled back from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to defend their temporary capital Aden on the southern coast. The move signalled the apparent end of a six-week government counteroffensive aimed at driving the Houthis from the mouth of the Red Sea and securing a key oil route.
The Southern Armed Forces, the main military force fighting for the government in the south, said in a statement that it was redeploying from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate, to prioritise securing Aden and neighbouring governorates. Yemeni military sources said government forces had redeployed to al-Suqyah, 150 km (95 miles) west of Aden, though they were still trying to push the Houthis from nearby coastal areas. There was no immediate response from the Houthis or from Saudi Arabia. The retreat undercuts efforts to reverse the rapid gains the Houthis made in September along the Red Sea coast, where a Saudi-backed offensive last month retook key positions around the strait but failed to drive the Houthis away or retake the city of al-Mocha.S1S2
The announcement raises the prospect of new Houthi advances towards Aden, the base of the internationally recognised government since the Houthis drove it from the capital Sanaa more than a decade ago. The Houthis have meanwhile intensified drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, grounding flights with strikes on its main airports and setting global oil markets on edge by targeting energy facilities.S1S2
Iranian attacks on Bahrain, headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf, were likely to add pressure on US President Donald Trump to resolve the war he launched nearly nine months ago. The war has proved unpopular, and Trump has played down the need for a diplomatic breakthrough since it contributed to a defeat for his Republicans in midterm elections this month. Major warfare between the US and Iran has calmed since the early phase of the conflict, but with diplomacy stalled there is little immediate prospect of a resolution either to the wider conflict or to the war in Yemen.S1S2
