US intensifies anti-Houthi operations before new round of Iran nuclear talks

Saudi Arabia and UAE strongly deny reports they are involved in talks with the US over a possible land offensive by Yemeni military factions against the rebels

Houthi supporters attend a protest against US air strikes on rebel positions last month. EPA

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The Pentagon on Wednesday unleashed more air assaults against Houthi-held positions in Yemen, striking new targets as the US increases pressure on the Iran-backed group before a second round of indirect talks with Tehran this weekend.

Houthi media said one person was killed in a US strike on Sanaa and accused Washington of launching more than a dozen air raids on the Houthi-held capital.

A US defence official could not provide a toll but told The National that new strikes had occurred and were continuing round the clock.

“We're going to continue our 24/7 campaign, utilising maximum pressure against the Houthi terrorists,” the official said.

Rebel-held areas of Yemen have been hit with near-daily US strikes since President Donald Trump launched an air campaign against the Houthis on March 15 to try to end their threats to shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Also on Wednesday, the UAE and Saudi Arabia denied media reports that they are involved in talks with the US over a possible land offensive by military factions in Yemen against the Houthis. Reuters reported the denials after media reports on potential military action.

American officials close to the military operation against the Houthis were unaware of any plans for a ground operation, a US official told The National.

Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that “among all the wild, unsubstantiated stories going around, that one surely wins the misleading-news-of-the-week award, by a wide margin". A Saudi official source later in the day also said the reports were false.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that Yemeni factions were planning a ground offensive along the Red Sea coast to take advantage of the US bombing campaign and that the UAE had raised that plan with US officials.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Yemeni forces opposed to the Iran-backed Houthis are in talks with the US and Gulf allies about a possible land offensive.

The anti-Houthi operation has not so far achieved its aim of ending Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade route, and Israel.

After the US renewed air strikes, armed groups supporting the government have been preparing to march on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, analysts say. The attacks on the city have reportedly killed Houthi figures and weakened the group.

The UAE was part of a Saudi-led coalition that launched a military campaign against the Houthis from early 2015 at the request of the internationally recognised government, after the rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The UAE ended its military involvement in Yemen in 2019 and major fighting in the civil war paused in 2022 with a truce and peace talks, leaving the Houthis in control of most of the west of the country, home to most of the population.

The Houthis, who are closely aligned with Iran and opposed to Israel, began attacking Red Sea shipping in November 2023 in what they said was a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.