Saudi-Backed Yemeni Forces Claim Mokha and Bab el-Mandeb Coast; Houthis Deny City's Fall, Say They Hit Saudi Airports and an Aramco Refinery

Yemen's internationally recognized government said Monday that its forces had retaken the Red Sea port city of Mokha and captured key locations along the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a Saudi-backed counteroffensive against the Iran-backed Houthis, according to CNBC, RTHK, citing Reuters, and Seeking Alpha. The Houthis rejected the claims and said they struck back at Saudi targets, including an airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery, intensifying a conflict that has unsettled oil markets for weeks.

Government Says Mokha Fell, But Accounts on the Ground Differ

The government's Defence Ministry said Mokha had fallen to its forces, but four government sources told Reuters, as reported by RTHK, that troops backed by heavy Saudi air strikes had only reached the outskirts of the city late on Monday, with Houthi fighters retreating into the highlands. That gap between the ministry's statement and the field sources' account means the precise status of the city remains unsettled even within government ranks, and neither CNBC nor Seeking Alpha said the advance had been independently verified.

The Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and many of Yemen's more populous areas since 2014, called the government's claims baseless, according to RTHK. CNBC reported that the Houthis had reportedly denied Mokha had fallen, while noting it could not independently verify either side's version of events.

Mokha sits about 75 kilometers north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and was seized by the Houthis in early September, a move CNBC said was seen at the time as a major blow to Saudi Arabia because it raised the prospect of Houthi control over the strait. Government forces had already retaken an airstrip in the Dhubab district at the mouth of the strait, RTHK reported, a position whose loss to the Houthis last month had rattled energy markets. Reuters, via RTHK, said the advance, if confirmed, would loosen the Houthis' grip on a vital Red Sea oil route already roiling energy markets alongside Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, though it cautioned the group could still strike vessels with drones from other positions.

Yemen's government also said it had launched a "strategic offensive" on Sanaa, the capital the Houthis have held since 2014, according to CNBC.

Houthis Claim Strikes on Saudi Airports, Aramco Refinery

In response to the government advance, the Houthis said they had attacked key locations in Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha international airport and the Khamis Mushait military base, Reuters reported via RTHK, which said the claims could not be immediately verified and that Saudi Arabia and Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Houthi military also released footage of drone strikes on vehicles and troops on the south coast highway near Al Bahiya and threatened to attack traffic in Saudi airspace, according to the same report.

Separately, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted in attacks on Monday evening, injuring three people and causing limited damage, and that it was working with authorities to ensure the safety of the facilities, CNBC reported, citing a statement shared on social media on Tuesday morning.

The fighting is not one-directional. Five military sources with the Yemeni government told Reuters, as reported by RTHK, that the Houthis had made advances near Taiz, the country's third-largest city, gaining sections of a mountain road that left government forces besieged; one government source denied the road had been cut. The Saudi-led coalition also said late on Monday that naval forces carried out a military operation in Yemen's Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah, RTHK reported.

At an emergency meeting of defense ministers in Riyadh on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan agreed to activate deterrence measures and rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia under their Mecca defence pact, according to a joint statement cited by RTHK and CNBC. The "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement," signed in August, is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three countries would be regarded as an attack on all, RTHK reported. In the statement, the three countries condemned "in the strongest terms the attempted targeting of Mecca and Medina, as well as the continuing attacks targeting cities and civilian and economic facilities in the Kingdom, reaffirming their unequivocal rejection of any attack or threat against the Kingdom's security and territorial integrity."

Oil Prices Ease but Stay Near $100

Crude benchmarks were slightly lower on Tuesday morning, CNBC reported: December Brent futures traded 0.3% lower at $100.12 a barrel, having briefly dipped below $100 earlier in the session, while November West Texas Intermediate futures stood nearly 0.9% lower at $88.63. Those two reported levels leave Brent $11.49 a barrel above WTI (100.12 - 88.63), or about 13% higher ((100.12 - 88.63) / 88.63 * 100 = 12.96%) — an arithmetic comparison of the quoted observations, not a forecast or a statement of cause.

Energy strategists at ING wrote in a research note published Tuesday: "While there are growing signs of a recovery in oil flows from the Persian Gulf, the market remains nervous about potential supply disruptions from the region. This is keeping prices well-supported for now." They added that the nervousness is "likely to persist until there are signs of progress in a deal between the US and Iran."

Interpretation: taken together, the reported price action and ING's comment suggest traders are treating the Red Sea advance as a possible easing of one risk channel while the broader Gulf supply question remains open — consistent with benchmarks slipping modestly rather than selling off sharply. That reading is an interpretation of the cited price levels and commentary, not a prediction of future prices.

Fighting has raged along several front lines for weeks since Yemen's dormant civil war erupted as a spillover from the US-Iran conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, with the Houthis seeking to control Bab el-Mandeb and firing missiles and drones at Saudi cities and infrastructure, according to RTHK and CNBC. The UN migration agency said on Monday that 184,000 people had been displaced since the war resumed, worsening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the poorest state in the Arab region, RTHK reported. Yemen's internationally recognised president, Rashad al-Alimi, swore on Sunday to fight "until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia."

Bottom Line

The government's claim to Mokha and the Bab el-Mandeb coast is reported by CNBC, Reuters via RTHK and Seeking Alpha, but it is disputed by the Houthis, qualified by government field sources who described forces only reaching the city's outskirts, and has not been independently verified. Reuters, via RTHK, said the advance, if confirmed, would loosen the Houthis' grip on a vital Red Sea oil route, while cautioning that the group could still strike vessels with drones from other positions. For now, the market response has been limited, with Brent reported at $100.12 and WTI at $88.63 on Tuesday morning.