Transcript [00:00] Everyone, we're going to do an update on [00:02] the war in Yemen, the war between Saudi [00:04] Arabia and the Houthis. [00:06] That is what we're going to take a look [00:08] at uh in this video. Let's just get [00:10] right to the headlines and hit it. Saudi [00:12] Arabia intercepts wave of Houthi [00:14] missiles as oil climbs to one week high. [00:17] Yes, that's right. This war did not [00:19] pause for the United Nations General [00:21] Assembly. This is a new a news item from [00:23] today. Saudi Arabia says it intercepted [00:26] six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's [00:29] Iranbacked Houthis. The latest attacks [00:32] pushing oil prices to a one-week high [00:34] over fears of spiraling supply [00:37] disruptions. The Saudiled coalition in [00:40] Yemen said the missiles were aimed at [00:41] Taif in western Saudi Arabia and Yanbu [00:44] area on the Red Sea with the Houthis [00:46] claiming their attacks were aimed at a [00:48] sensitive target in the capital of Riyad [00:51] and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Tanu. [00:55] So let's take a look at what that means. [00:58] Uh so here is uh a map of Yemen and [01:02] Saudi Arabia. Okay. Okay. And here's [01:05] Riad, really far from Yemen. But Yan Buu [01:08] is up here, up in the top here. Let's [01:12] zero in on this a little bit more. [01:14] Here's Yanbu all the way on the side [01:16] here. Yanbu is the major port where the [01:19] East West pipeline that pipes uh [01:22] millions of barrels of oil a day from [01:24] the oil fields in the eastern part of [01:26] Saudi Arabia all the way over here so [01:28] that they could bypass the street of [01:29] Hormuz. That's where Yanbu is. So they [01:31] are shelling Yanbu and and Taes is down [01:36] in this area here. I'm sorry, Taif, [01:39] which was also being shelled. So here's [01:41] Yanbu port. Here's Taif. They were [01:43] shelling Taif as well. That's what it [01:44] said in that article. Let's go back to [01:47] that. [01:49] Um, sorry, they were aimed at Taif in [01:51] Western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu area, [01:54] right? And and we have the oil prices [01:57] are climbing. Okay. the and then it goes [02:00] on to say the Houthi seized the whole [02:02] Yemeni western coast in a lightning [02:04] offensive nearly two weeks ago which [02:06] basically gave them control of the Bob [02:08] Almand strait. [02:11] Um [02:13] yeah so that's so that's what's going [02:15] on. Things are are continuing and the [02:17] Saudis are intercepting Houthi ballistic [02:18] missiles. Houthis say they attacked [02:20] Riyad and Aramco facilities in Yanbu. [02:24] Right. That's what uh now attacking Riad [02:27] has no strategic benefit in terms of [02:30] shipping lanes or controlling Baband or [02:33] any of the other sites. It's not a [02:34] military, but it is the capital city. So [02:36] it has value for them just to show their [02:39] reach and their that and that they're [02:41] they have the ability to hit it. [02:45] Uh so that's significant. Uh, and [02:49] Yemen's Houthis claim missile drone [02:51] attack on Saudi military sites in Jazan. [02:55] So, what's this? Let's go to the map [02:56] again. Jazan is right here. Okay, so [03:00] here's Yemen. Here's the border between [03:01] Yemen. The black line is the border [03:02] between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. And if [03:04] you zoom in, Jazan is right next to the [03:07] Houthi uh the the Yemeni border. The [03:10] Houthi controlled area is the western [03:13] part of Yemen. It's it's been expanding [03:15] significantly. uh it used to be uh [03:18] really just the Northwest, but now it's [03:20] it's expanding a lot. That's what this [03:22] whole offensive is about. But here's [03:24] Jazan right here. Now, Jazan [03:27] uh is in a is uh is in an area of Saudi [03:32] Arabia that historically [03:35] the uh the the Yemenes view as part of [03:40] Yemen. [03:42] Okay. Um, so it's this is a Saudi border [03:44] province and it's next to the main [03:47] Houthi base. It's it houses Saudi [03:50] Arabia's uh forward military base for [03:53] the Yemeni front as a port and an [03:55] economic zone. And it's one of the [03:58] provinces that Yemen gave up to Saudi [04:00] Arabia in 1934. [04:02] So the Houthis use it as a like Yemen [04:05] nationalist [04:06] rallying point. Okay, that's uh that's [04:10] what that So, Jazan is very significant. [04:13] Okay, let's take a look at a few of [04:15] these other [04:17] of these other um yeah, so they're so [04:20] they're claiming that they've hit some [04:21] sites in Jazan in the Altal area. That's [04:23] that whole coastal area there. [04:26] Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reports fresh [04:27] Houthi attacks as France offers military [04:30] support to protect Yanbu. Oh, finally [04:32] the Saudis are getting some military [04:33] support. Okay. And then it mentions the [04:35] ballistic missiles they intercepted that [04:37] we already saw. By the way, it also [04:38] mentions in here that Iran's president [04:40] Masud Peshan denied that Tehran was [04:43] directing Houthi battle plans. The [04:45] Houthis are responsible for their own [04:47] actions. They don't take directions from [04:48] us as those who are resisting in the [04:51] region based on the situations that have [04:52] been imposed on them. He told Fox News. [04:56] Okay. Now to the French pledge of [04:57] support. With pressure mounting on Saudi [04:59] Arabia, French President Emanuel Macron [05:02] said France planned to send military [05:04] assets, meaning soldiers, radars and [05:07] defense systems to protect Yanbu. Not to [05:10] engage in any conflicts, but to protect [05:12] this site. How are they going to protect [05:13] it exactly? I guess uh maybe some air [05:15] defenses, radars and defense systems. [05:18] What the soldiers are there for? If [05:19] they're not going to fight, I don't [05:20] know. Macron said in an interview with [05:22] with the television channels TF1 and [05:24] France 2. Okay. So, so the French have [05:27] pledged their support. [05:30] And as for Peskran claiming that the [05:32] Iranians were not involved, IRG IRGC [05:35] forces on ground helped Houthi seize [05:38] Yemen's Red Sea coast. IRGC personnel [05:40] were on the ground in Yemen helping the [05:42] Houthis seize the country's Red Sea [05:44] coast from progovernant forces, marking [05:47] Tehran's most direct intervention on [05:50] behalf of the group since the war began [05:51] in 2014. The Associated Press reported [05:55] the Houthis also penetrated the [05:56] communications of the national [05:58] resistance forces allowing them to [06:00] monitor troop movements and create [06:02] confusion according to the report. So [06:03] the IRGC has been helping them. And then [06:06] here we have uh and now how is the world [06:08] responding to this new escalation. So we [06:11] saw that France said that they're [06:12] willing to help allies unite behind [06:14] Saudi Arabia as Houthis step up attacks. [06:18] Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan will [06:20] hold an urgent high level meeting under [06:23] a joint defense pack to discuss ways to [06:25] support the kingdom amid attacks by [06:27] Yemen's Houthis. While Saudi's top [06:29] religious authority told troops to be [06:32] ready to lay down their lives to fight [06:35] their Iran aligned enemy. That's right. [06:37] The top cleric in Saudi Arabia, the top [06:39] imam, Saudi Arabia's grand muti, the [06:42] kingdom's top religious authority, [06:44] called on soldiers to be ready to lay [06:46] down their lives to fight the Houthis [06:48] until the group is ousted from power. [06:50] This is this is different. We never see [06:52] the Saudis I've talked about this [06:54] before. We never see the Saudis wanting [06:55] to fight. And here they have their grand [06:58] muty prepping the soldiers, telling them [07:01] that they might have to lay down their [07:03] lives. I don't know who's going to lay [07:04] down their lives. Remember in these [07:06] kingdoms, [07:08] these family businesses [07:11] that are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the [07:14] others, they're basically family [07:16] businesses run by one mafia family and [07:20] everyone else are sort of citizens, but [07:21] these are not national identities. These [07:24] countries have existed for like 10 [07:26] minutes, okay? Like they in the 1920s, [07:29] French and British diplomats drew lines [07:31] on a map and gave and created these this [07:34] new con this western concept of [07:36] countries with borders was was created [07:39] in this part of the world and these [07:42] kingdoms these family businesses were [07:44] created. The people living in these [07:46] countries do not have any national [07:48] allegiances. I don't know who's going to [07:50] be laying down their lives for the Saudi [07:51] royal family, but that's what happened. [07:54] Uh this was an announcement made [07:57] amid the fighting. The Saudi Pakistani [07:59] and Turkish foreign ministers met within [08:02] the framework of the Mecca joint [08:03] defensive agreement. Remember that [08:04] agreement where they're supposed to come [08:06] to each other's aid. According to a [08:08] Saudi foreign ministry statement, they [08:10] condemned the attacks targeting Mecca [08:12] and other civilian sites while affirming [08:14] Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself. [08:16] The statement said uh the ministers also [08:19] discussed arrangements for holding an [08:21] urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff [08:24] of the three countries to discuss ways [08:26] to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca [08:28] joint defense agreement which stipulates [08:30] that an attack against any one of the [08:32] parties constitute an attack constitutes [08:34] an attack against all parties. the [08:36] statement said in other words uh we [08:38] don't really want to fulfill our [08:39] obligations under the agreement which [08:41] would mean that the Saudis which would [08:42] mean that the Pakistanis and the Turks [08:44] would have to enter the war and fight [08:46] the Houthis with the Saudis to protect [08:48] them and they don't want to do that. So [08:50] they're trying to come up with ways to [08:52] not fulfill the agreement but claim [08:53] they're fulfilling it. That's what this [08:54] meeting is all really about. Meanwhile, [08:57] Yemen sees clashes in Tais. Now let's [09:00] talk about what's going on in Yemen [09:01] itself. We've talked about attacks on [09:02] Saudi Arabia, on the bases there on the [09:05] on on Yanbuk. I should also mention that [09:08] Jazan, which is right on the border [09:10] there, which I just showed you. Jazan [09:13] right here, uh, this border city on the [09:15] Saudi side, also has a major refinery. [09:18] Okay? So, there's a number of different [09:20] strategic reasons why the Houthis would [09:23] be attacking there. But uh on the Yemen [09:26] side of the border, remember what we [09:29] have is the Yemeni armed forces that are [09:32] backed by Saudi Arabia. They're fighting [09:33] the Houthis on the ground in Yemen. And [09:35] then you have air strikes that the [09:36] Saudis are carrying out. The Houthis are [09:38] firing ballistic missiles at Saudi [09:40] sites, but the Houthis are also fighting [09:42] against these government forces, taking [09:44] more and more territory. So there's a [09:46] there's a lot of the clashes right now [09:48] are centering on the city of Tahes. Tis [09:51] is right here. [09:53] Here's Tesiz. This is Tis. It is one of [09:56] the largest cities in Yemen. Sana, the [09:59] capital, has already been held by Yemen [10:00] for a long time, for more than a decade. [10:02] And now they're trying to take now. Taiz [10:05] is an interesting place. It's never been [10:07] fully under Houthi control ever. Uh the [10:10] Houthis had it very briefly and they [10:12] were pushed out and then the city kind [10:14] of became divided. [10:16] uh and it's it's the city that has the [10:20] most a lot of the uh [10:24] the professional and intellectual base [10:26] as much as there is in Yemen is in Taes [10:29] the most educated classes there um it's [10:32] a lot it it's symbolically kind of the [10:35] cultural center of Yemen [10:39] and the Houthis taking [10:42] fully would be a total gamecher It would [10:46] it would signal that they're basically [10:48] taking over Yemen and you know because [10:51] Sana's already gone. There's not too [10:53] many cities left in Yemen that aren't at [10:56] this point under Houdi control. And [10:58] right now there's a full court press on [11:00] Tiz. So let's read about that. [11:03] Okay. Yemen sees clashes in Tahes air [11:06] strikes in Sada Houda amid diplomatic [11:09] push against Houthi. So the air strikes [11:11] are talking about Saudi air strikes. [11:12] Sada is all the way up here and Huda is [11:14] over here. So the Saudis are striking [11:16] there. Now that's not going to gain any [11:18] territory back. They could degrade some [11:20] some some capabilities of the Houthis or [11:23] kill some of them or destroy some of [11:24] their assets. Uh Sada is sort of [11:27] symbolic also because that's the birth [11:29] of the Houthi movement was in Sada. [11:32] So the the Saudis are striking Sada and [11:34] Huda, but that's not going to push the [11:36] Houthis back. The Houthis have to be [11:38] pushed back on the ground. Um so let's [11:41] take a look at what's going on on the [11:42] ground there. Several fronts in Yemen [11:43] saw military developments Thursday, [11:45] that's yesterday, including clashes in [11:47] Tais and air strikes in Huda and Sada as [11:50] the Yemeni government stepped up [11:51] diplomatic efforts over Houthi [11:53] escalation and its repercussions for [11:55] national and regional security and [11:56] freedom of international navigation. and [11:58] Yemeni government forces said they [12:00] downed a drone yesterday over Jabal [12:02] Habashi district southwest of Taiz while [12:05] thwarting a Houthi infiltration attempt [12:08] targeting security positions around a [12:10] vital road that serves as the only field [12:13] route linking Tai city with the southern [12:16] provinces of Laj and Aden. Okay. Um let [12:21] me show you what that's referring to and [12:22] this is very critical. I'll explain to [12:24] you exactly what the Houthis are doing. [12:26] So this is Taiis. Okay. There is a road [12:30] that runs down to Aden, the port. Now [12:33] the ports along the coast have all been [12:35] taken by the Houthis. Mocha port for a [12:37] long time was not in Houthi hands and it [12:39] was the it was a major port used by the [12:43] by the Yemenes, the non- Houthis, but [12:45] it's it's now held by the Houthis. For [12:48] supply chain purposes, Taes needs to [12:51] have access to Aden. And it's a it's [12:53] like this mountain windy road. It's the [12:57] only real access to Tes. And the Houthis [13:00] are trying to encircle Tes and cut off [13:02] this road so that Tais is essentially [13:05] under siege. Okay. And there's a lot of [13:07] fighting in this area on the, you know, [13:12] on the in the south, [13:15] uh, you know, southwest, [13:17] northeast, east, and southeast. This [13:20] this whole sort of semicircle around [13:22] Tais that I'm showing you is where a lot [13:24] of the fighting is centered now because [13:27] uh because uh the Houthis are trying to [13:29] conquer all of this. Okay. A Yemeni [13:31] armed forces spokesman said Thursday [13:33] that army forces targeted elements of [13:35] the terrorist Houthi militias in Mocha [13:37] and Tais without providing details on [13:39] the results of the attacks. They're not [13:41] getting too many results. The Houthis [13:43] are really advancing here. Uh outside [13:46] Yemen, the Houthi said Thursday they [13:47] targeted military sites in Jazan. We saw [13:49] that already. Let's jump down. Yemen [13:52] government forces claim control of Mount [13:55] Karan in Tais. Now Mount Karfan is uh of [13:58] great strategic importance. [14:00] Let me explain Mount Carfon. Hold on. [14:04] Let me pull this up here. I have some [14:05] notes [14:07] on Mount Carfon. [14:10] Why it matters? [14:13] Where is it? [14:15] Here. Mount Carfan is a right. It's the [14:18] high ground that overlooks the valleys [14:22] um [14:24] outside of Taes, right? It gives [14:25] basically fire control and surveillance [14:29] over the whole area. So the if the [14:32] Yemeni government actually seized Mount [14:34] Karan, that gives them a significant [14:36] strategic advantage. Okay, that's that's [14:39] the significance of that story. Then we [14:41] have this one. Yemeni forces say the [14:43] repel Houthi attacks in Taes as fighting [14:46] rages. And this is all this is from [14:48] today. These two stories are both from [14:50] today. Uh and uh so things are [14:52] escalating in Yemen. That's the bottom [14:55] line. The Houthis are advancing. If Tais [14:58] falls, [14:59] it is a it's a new level of Houthi [15:03] control in the country of Yemen. [15:06] The Saudis are still are still [15:07] scrambling to get allies to help them. [15:10] And uh [15:13] we'll see we'll see where this heads. [15:14] But right now, as things stand, there's [15:16] a there there are two countries that are [15:20] being blockaded from selling their oil. [15:22] One is Iran and the other is basically [15:24] Saudi Arabia because the Houthis are not [15:26] letting Saudi ships get through the [15:27] Baband straight and uh Iran is trying to [15:31] disrupt their shipping in in Hormuz. [15:34] There are Saudi tankers in the Persian [15:35] Gulf that are trying to get out. The [15:37] Americans are helping them. Uh but Saudi [15:39] Arabia is still in this pickle [15:42] and uh there's more and more shelling uh [15:45] all over the southwest area of Saudi [15:48] Arabia. The Houthis are firing ballistic [15:50] missiles all over the place. And they [15:51] even fired a ballistic missile all the [15:53] way up to Tab in Tabuk all the way up [15:55] near Jordan. That might have just been a [15:57] show of force to show them how far they [15:59] can strike. It's unclear why they would [16:01] strike up all the way up there, but they [16:03] did strike Tabuk all the way in the [16:05] north. Um, but yeah, that's where things [16:09] stand now. So this is totally unresolved [16:12] and it it it rages on and uh yeah look [16:16] there's a nationalistic aspect to this. [16:18] It's not you know that the the Saudis [16:20] kind of view Yemen as their as sort of [16:24] their property and there's a number of [16:26] provinces down here in southwest Saudi [16:29] Arabia that the Yemeni people view as [16:32] part of Yemen. So the Houthis are using [16:35] that as part of this nationalistic drive [16:37] to liberate pieces of of uh of Yemen of [16:41] Saudi Arabia and bring them and bring [16:43] them under Houthi control. Uh they [16:46] haven't launched an offensive across the [16:48] border yet, but they are launching [16:49] ballistic missiles across there causing [16:51] damage. Uh so yeah, this is completely [16:53] unresolved and uh yeah, that's pretty [16:56] much where it stands now. That's that's [16:57] uh hope you found this update somewhat [16:59] interesting and helpful. All right, God [17:01] bless.
