SANA’A — Yemeni Armed Forces led by Ansarullah completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, capturing the strategic Mayun Island in the heart of the waterway and securing full control over Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline in a rapid offensive that has shattered Saudi-backed defensive lines and prompted Riyadh to urgently appeal to Washington for military intervention.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, announced in a televised statement on Friday that military units and allied popular committees have liberated six districts across Hudaydah and Ta’izz provinces, purging 5,400 square kilometers of territory. 
The gains were made as part of a large-scale operation dubbed “Allah is stronger in might and stronger in inflicting punishment.”
The offensive was completed with the fall of the Al-Ardhi area, where Yemen’s armed forces officially placed Ansarullah in control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. A Saudi-backed official acknowledged to AFP that 
the YAF had secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait and seized Mayun Island.
Local sources told Al-Araby TV that Ansarallah-led forces took control of Mayun, a strategic island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The UAE had established military and intelligence sites on Mayun and other Yemeni islands in cooperation with Israel. 
Yemeni naval forces moved offshore following the coastal advance, capturing Mayun Island and advancing toward Zuqar Island.
The Yemeni Armed Forces also took control of the Hanish Islands, with retreating Saudi mercenaries reporting that Yemeni forces had launched attacks on the strategic Red Sea archipelago.
The lightning offensive began on September 3 with the capture of Yakhtul in southwestern Ta’izz province, followed by the seizure of Hays and Al-Khawkhah districts in Hudaydah province. 
Hudaydah Provincial Governor Abdullah Atifi stated that Yemeni army soldiers had fully cleared the districts of Saudi-backed mercenary forces, paving the way for the subsequent push into Mokha.
The capture of Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port city, was confirmed by Saudi-backed media and military sources, who acknowledged their retreat and the loss of the coastal hub. 
The liberation of Mokha effectively shattered the opposing forces’ coastal defensive lines, with Yemeni forces subsequently advancing south with little resistance to capture Dhubab and Murad.
Footage released by YAF members showed the scale of weapons abandoned by Saudi-backed forces, including U.S.-made Oshkosh M-ATV mine-resistant vehicles, pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons, armored vehicles, artillery pieces, and large quantities of ammunition and small arms.
Saree said Yemeni forces defeated seven divisions of Saudi-backed mercenaries composed of 38 brigades, killing and wounding hundreds of militants and taking many more captive. 
Furthermore, Yemeni forces liberated a large number of prisoners who were being kept in inhumane conditions in detention facilities overseen by Saudi mercenaries.
Yemeni air defense units carried out 32 operations and intercepted nine intruding Saudi aircraft, according to Saree. In a separate military development, Yemeni air defense units shot down a Saudi-operated Vestel Karayel surveillance drone with a surface-to-air missile while it was conducting “hostile operations” over Hajjah province.
The rapid collapse of Saudi-backed forces prompted Saudi Crown Prince Muhamma bin Salman to contact U.S. President Donald Trump twice on Thursday, first briefing him on retreats by allied Yemeni units before formally requesting American kinetic intervention, according to Axios.
Trump declined the request to maintain strategic focus on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to avoid opening an additional combat theater, sources familiar with the matter said. 
While ruling out direct airstrikes, the White House agreed to provide non-kinetic assistance, authorizing the transfer of actionable intelligence and targeting information to assist Saudi forces.
Approximately 200 U.S. military personnel are stationed in the kingdom for advisory and liaison duties, according to U.S. officials. Washington also dispatched U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for consultations with senior Saudi defense officials.
CNN reported that more than 100 U.S. military advisers have been deployed to Saudi Arabia, working under a newly established joint forces command to provide intelligence and targeting support. 
The U.S. has assisted Saudi Arabia in using a targeting tool similar to the Pentagon’s Maven system, providing real-time battlefield awareness and geospatial intelligence support.
However, U.S. officials emphasized that American forces are not directly participating in airstrikes, nor are they providing aerial refueling or other combat support for Saudi warplanes. 
The U.S. military remains heavily committed to terrorist operations around the Strait of Hormuz following more than six months of war on Iran, and military officials are wary of deeper involvement in Saudi aggression against Yemen. 
In a desperate attempt to stem the Yemeni advance, Saudi military aircraft carried out approximately 40 airstrikes across four Yemeni provinces on Thursday. 
According to Yemen’s Saba news agency, Saudi warplanes launched 10 strikes on al-Jawf province, three on Ma’rib, 18 on Ta’izz province, and nine on Hudaydah province, including strikes on Kamaran Island. However, the bombardment failed to prevent the loss of Mokha and the subsequent capture of Dhubab and the Al-Ardhi area.
The Sana’a government announced the resumption of operations at the strategic Mokha port hours after its forces took control. 
In a joint statement, the ministries of finance, economy, and transport said incentives would be offered in the coming days to container ships and cargoes at Red Sea ports, including reductions of up to 50 percent in vessel and container fees, taxes, and customs duties.
The government said the move is aimed at encouraging shipping companies to use the ports and avoid excessive and illegal costs in areas controlled by Saudi-backed groups. It called on merchants, traders, and shipping companies to take advantage of the incentives.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Sana’a government Abdul Wahid Abu Ras stated that “maritime navigation is safe, and the security of navigation has nothing to do with the skirmishes that were extinguished in the western coast districts”.
Top Yemeni negotiator Muhammad Abdul Salam added that “operations will cease when the aggression ends,” describing the military operations as “a national operation within the framework of asserting Yemeni sovereignty”.
The Yemeni military reaffirmed that passage through the Red Sea remains open to all vessels, except for shipments from Saudi Arabia, which are subject to a naval blockade. 
The Yemeni military stands firmly committed to maintaining the “siege for a siege” equation and will ramp up attacks in parallel with any escalation as long as aggression against their homeland persists and the blockade is not completely lifted.
The sudden collapse of Saudi-backed forces has drawn intense attention from Israeli circles, with Israeli Channel 14 saying that Ansarullah’s control of Mokha port “constitutes a strategic event that could have far-reaching consequences”. 
Egypt formed an emergency crisis cell to monitor the situation following Yemeni control of Mayun Island and its direct impact on Suez Canal traffic.
Oil prices surged Thursday after the YAF seized Mokha, as the capture of the Red Sea coast marks a major catastrophe for the United States and Saudi Arabia. 
The Saudis will find it increasingly difficult to export oil, with Ansarullah controlling Bab al-Mandab and Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz, together constraining the Kingdom’s ability to move its oil to global markets.
On July 20, the Sana’a government announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in response to “an unjust and oppressive siege” on Yemen for nearly 12 years. 
Saudi Arabia launched its war on Yemen in March 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition backed by the United States and several Western countries. Despite tens of thousands of Yemeni casualties, Riyadh failed to achieve its primary goal of reinstalling a compliant government.