TEHRAN – The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) have seized control of the country’s western coast, further consolidating their hold over the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait after capturing more than 5,400 square kilometers of territory from Saudi Arabia.

In a sweeping ground campaign along Yemen’s western coast, the YAF entered Dhubab, a town located directly on the Bab al-Mandab Strait opposite Perim Island.

Reports indicate Saudi-backed militants withdrew from the island as the YAF continued to advance, while life returned to normal in the port city of Mokha (liberated earlier), where government institutions resumed their regular tasks.

A Saudi-backed official acknowledged to AFP that the YAF had secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait and seized Mayyun Island. The YAF has now advanced toward areas adjacent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The YAF also took control of Al Khawkhah and Hays in Hudaydah province, as well as the Khalid ibn al-Walid camp, the largest military base in the region. 

Footage released by YAF members shows the scale of weapons abandoned by Saudi-backed forces. It includes U.S.-made Oshkosh M-ATV mine-resistant vehicles, pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons (technicals), armored vehicles, artillery pieces, and large quantities of ammunition and small arms.

The capture of the Red Sea coast marks a major catastrophe for the United States and Saudi Arabia. Full control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait will strengthen Ansar Allah’s position over the vital maritime chokepoint. For Saudi Arabia, it undermines Riyadh’s influence and military objectives in Yemen. 

The Saudis will also find it increasingly difficult to export oil, with Ansar Allah controlling Bab al-Mandab and Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz. Together, these two strategic chokepoints constrain the Kingdom’s ability to move its oil to global markets, tightening supplies and putting upward pressure on prices. The disruption to Saudi oil exports is already being reflected in the rising cost of oil on global markets.

This is while the United States faces greater risks to shipping and protecting Israeli interests. The regime’s media outlets continued to follow developments. Israeli Channel 14 said that Ansar Allah’s control of Mokha port on the Red Sea coast “constitutes a strategic event that could have far-reaching consequences.”

During the military front in support of and in solidarity with Gaza amid the U.S.-backed genocide in the Strip, the YAF’s threat in Bab al-Mandab had been directed only at Israeli and Israeli-affiliated ships. This was followed by American ships that attempted and failed to break the YAF’s Red Sea blockade on the regime’s vessels.

Saudi Arabia has been carrying out heavy airstrikes against several provinces in an effort to reinforce its military buildup on the ground.

Throughout the rapid YAF military advance, Ansar Allah’s political bureau affirmed that the western coastal areas are Yemeni territory and that Yemenis have the right to reclaim them from Saudi Arabia. Ansar Allah has noted that the entry of the YAF into these areas was widely welcomed by residents.

In essence, the YAF was established by the people of Yemen and its tribes, despite media attempts to distort this fact alongside disinformation campaigns that gloss over Saudi Arabia’s decades-old hostile interference in Yemen’s domestic affairs.

Essentially, the collapse of regions previously controlled by Saudi Arabia highlights the limits of the Kingdom’s influence over groups it has funded and trained but now have little interest in fighting for a project that undermines Yemen’s sovereignty.

The YAF has been very clear that only Saudi Arabia, which has waged deadly air raids over the past decade and enforced a choking blockade on its civilian population, will be targeted by a maritime blockade at the Bab al-Mandab Strait. 

The YAF launched the major, multi-pronged military operation on September 3, with broad participation from the people and tribal forces.

According to a statement by YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree on September 11, 2026, the operation was aimed at striking the “Saudi enemy’s” military build-ups and confronting the aggression and blockade that have continued for 12 years.

It also came in response to the escalating attacks against residents, villages, and rural communities along the western coast.

The statement pointed out that the operation was launched in response to calls from local residents to end the injustice and drive out Saudi forces and military build-ups seeking to bring Yemeni territory under occupation and control.

Saree said the operation had concluded successfully, despite the “enemy’s” heavy air cover failing to influence its course. The operation resulted in the expulsion of Saudi military build-ups from six districts in the governorates of Taiz and Hudaydah, covering a total area of 5,400 square kilometers, which has now become secure and stable.

The statement also said the operation achieved several results, including strikes against seven military formations belonging to the “Saudi enemy,” comprising 38 military brigades. Hundreds of their personnel were killed, captured, or wounded. The operation also led to the liberation of prisoners who had been held by “Saudi enemy mercenaries” for years along the western coast.

Furthermore, the YAF carried out 32 operations to intercept Saudi warplanes and succeeded in shooting down nine aircraft.

Saree emphasized that maritime navigation remains safe for all companies, with the exception of Saudi vessels, which had previously been declared subject to a ban.

The YAF further emphasized that they would continue to uphold the equation of “blockade for blockade” and respond to military build-ups and escalation with further escalation, until the aggression is halted and the blockade on the Yemeni people is lifted.

According to Ansar Allah’s political bureau, the YAF is currently holding prisoners of various nationalities following Saudi Arabia’s abandonment of its forces on the battlefield. This further underscores the confusion in Riyadh, where the forces it supports appear to lack a clear political objective or a cause rooted in Yemen’s national interests.

The YAF has repeatedly demonstrated that it possesses the military capabilities needed to establish control and confront threats to Yemen’s sovereignty. It could also escalate its operations in the coming period if Saudi Arabia continues to conduct airstrikes or refuses to lift the blockade.

The YAF’s growing control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait gives it significant leverage in confronting its adversaries. These include Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the Zionist regime. But Yemen appears unfazed, as it has expanded its maritime blockade against regimes that wage aggression against it.