Yemen’s Houthis Test Saudi Arabia’s New Military Alliance With Turkey and Pakistan

Yemen’s Houthis have been surprising the world for years, and especially their less-than-friendly neighbors, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In addition to periodic strikes on their oil and gas facilities and military bases, the Houthis have recently added a victorious advance aimed at taking control of a significant part of coastal Yemen. Saudi forces stationed in the area suffered losses and withdrew. Turkey and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia’s newly established military allies, did not respond in any way. Oil, however, did respond — with prices rising. The reason was the Houthis’ closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and damage they themselves inflicted on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. As a result, Europe was told not to expect oil supplies from the end of September. And all of this is being done by the Houthis, who only recently were portrayed as men running through the desert in flip-flops. This raises the question of what lies behind the unexpected military success of Yemen’s Houthis. But it is still worth starting with their opponents. They certainly appear to have greater resources.