Ansarollah Website. Analysis | Ahmed Dawood

Saudi Arabia is moving on all fronts—militarily, intelligence-wise, and diplomatically—in openly hostile actions against Yemen, reaffirming its unwillingness to take any real steps toward fulfilling the requirements of peace or closing the chapter of aggression and blockade imposed on our country.

A set of clear indicators reflects Riyadh’s adoption of this confrontational approach. Since the 2022 truce, Saudi Arabia has shown no genuine willingness to address the humanitarian file: no progress on the prisoners’ issue, no real steps toward fully reopening land, sea, and air crossings. Instead, it has doubled down on undermining Yemen’s national security by collaborating with American and Israeli intelligence in recruiting spies, supporting every effort at the UN Security Council to keep sanctions in place, and intensifying its diplomatic mobilization against the free people of Sana’a.

Just days ago, Saudi Arabia concluded its “Red Wave-8” naval drills off the coast of Jeddah, involving several Red Sea states—including the so-called government of traitors. The message to Sana’a was clear: these states are positioning themselves under the pretext of “protecting maritime routes.” According to Abdullah Salem al-Nakha’i, head of the puppet government’s naval and coastal defense forces, the drills were aimed at countering what he called “Houthi escalation in vital waterways.”
Yet every country in the region now fully recognizes that Yemen does not threaten Red Sea navigation—its operations target only Israeli-linked vessels or ships heading to the port of Umm al-Rashrash in occupied southern Palestine.

The exercise also laid bare the deep alignment between these states and the Zionist entity. Their military posturing serves the enemy’s interests, not the Palestinian cause. Instead of using their strategic position along the Red Sea to defend Palestine—as Yemen has done—they have chosen to act as a spearhead in undermining the cause, in service of American and Israeli agendas.

This is one of several signs proving Riyadh has no genuine intention of pursuing peace or fulfilling its obligations. Its moves, coordinated with other Arab states, serve Israeli-American priorities and aim to militarize the Red Sea in line with long-term U.S. strategic objectives—objectives that target not only Yemen but every country bordering the Red Sea, and even nations farther afield, including China.

Saudi actions also complement suspicious Emirati maneuvers to control maritime routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, particularly through Abu Dhabi’s expanding military presence on Socotra Island—moves that clearly align with Zionist goals. Riyadh is now participating with regional states in “Task Force 153,” a U.S.-led coalition seeking military, security, economic, and political dominance over the region—an expansion that serves no one but Israel.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and their allied regimes attempt to justify all this under the worn-out pretext of countering so-called “Houthi threats.” But such claims no longer convince anyone; the real motives and risks are now widely understood. As the Eritrean president—whose country also overlooks the Red Sea—warned: “Any militarization of Yemeni islands constitutes a direct threat to Eritrea, Egypt, Somalia, and to the entire regional maritime security structure.”

Intelligence Exposure

While the Kingdom has been visibly escalating its military activities against Yemen, its intelligence operations targeting Sana’a have become increasingly exposed following the confessions of the espionage network linked to American, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence. Saudi Arabia’s role in serving the interests of both the United States and Israel has become unmistakably clear—suffice it to say that the headquarters of this joint intelligence cell is located in Riyadh.

Certainly, these are not all of Saudi Arabia’s practices against Yemen; they are merely examples that indicate Saudi Arabia has no intention of entering into a just and honorable peace with Yemen—one that would close a decade of aggression and blockade. Instead, it continues to accumulate hostility through further adversarial actions. Riyadh seeks to restore Yemen to its previous state of subordination, treating it as a “backyard,” and therefore rejects any solution or settlement that benefits the Yemeni people—who were liberated from external guardianship by the September 21 Revolution.

It can be said that the growing strength of the Yemeni Armed Forces and the establishment of a deterrence balance in the military confrontation were the main reasons behind the temporary Saudi and Emirati inclination toward peace. The 2022 truce came only after strategic operations by the Yemeni Armed Forces that targeted deep inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Thus, Saudi Arabia resorted to the truce out of fear of expanded operations on its territory, though it was never truly convinced of peace.

Sana’a still has many options in responding to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing hostile escalation. Foremost among them is entering intensive negotiations to dissuade this hostile neighbor from continuing its aggression. Oman plays a key role here, especially if Saudi Arabia shows genuine interest in finding a way out of the Yemeni predicament—a choice favored by all, for continued aggression benefits no one, and the war’s consequences and costs are multiplied for every party involved.

As for Sana’a’s second option—after exhausting all peaceful avenues—it is a return to war, confronting escalation with escalation. In such a case, the formula announced by the Leader—may Allah protect him—would be activated: an airport for an airport, a port for a port, expanding into broader equations under the principle of reciprocal response.

The coming stage appears to be a test for Saudi Arabia. Any continued escalation by the Kingdom will be met with a response from Sana’a. The cost would be extremely high for Riyadh, which seeks to build a strong economy under its Vision 2030—a project that already shows signs of failure. Many of its mega-projects will not be insulated from the rising Yemeni anger which, if it erupts, could sweep away Saudi Arabia and the entire region, as foretold by the late Mohamed Hassanein Heikal.