Iran war live: Houthis control Red Sea coast, Saudi pipeline shut down

Reporting from Sanaa in YemenThe Saudi strikes and counteroffensive is mainly focused on retaking the city of Mocha and the districts south of the city close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, starting with Saudi airstrikes. The counteractive strikes are targeting both longstanding Houthi-held territory and areas recently captured by the group.The Houthis were expecting a counteroffensive to try to recapture these areas by the Saudis and their allies.The group was prepared because its fighters have specialized in stealth warfare tactics and strategy where they’re able to take over areas and hide their weapons, their launching pads, as well as their air defense radars.This is a problem that the US and Israel previously faced in the past as they tried to destroy the military capabilities of the Houthis and its ability to launch ballistic missiles at Israel-bound vessels.Both the US and Israel failed in achieving their military objectives against the group because the Houthis were able to dig in, evade and or be tracked by the vastly superior technology of the Americans and the Israelis.In order for Saudi Arabia or the internationally-recognized Yemeni government to be successful, they will need a military presence in the south of the country all the way to where the biggest military base is now under the control of the Houthis as well as the biggest weapons depot that was captured by the group on Thursday.It’s going to take a major military offensive to try to regain these territories back from the Houthis, and it seems that the Yemeni government is committing to this military campaign to try to recover the strategic lands that they’ve lost.This screen grab taken from video footage released by the Houthi rebels’ Al-Masirah TV channel and made available via AFPTV on September 11, 2026, purportedly shows their fighters in the streets of Mocha, as the group claims to have taken control of the strategic Red Sea port city from Saudi-backed forces. [AFP]