Transcript [00:00] Major update on Yemen. You know, I made [00:04] a video yesterday about what was going [00:05] on with the Houthis in Yemen, and I was [00:07] all optimistic. I was reporting on the [00:09] Houthis getting pushed back by the [00:10] government forces, by the Saudi backed [00:13] government forces, and that the Houthis [00:14] were on the run, and there were advances [00:16] being made against them, and it was it [00:19] was looking good. And it turns out that [00:22] that's not exactly what was going on. [00:24] We're going to learn about it in this [00:26] video. all the news. I mean, I was [00:28] sharing what was in the world media and [00:30] today the story is that everyone is [00:32] saying, "Oh my gosh, there was something [00:33] else going on there and it's actually in [00:37] some ways the reverse of what we said it [00:39] was yesterday." So, I know we were all [00:41] kind of, you know, in a positive mood on [00:44] Yemen yesterday, but let's take a look [00:46] at what happened. Houthis reach Yemen's [00:48] Hanish Islands in Red Sea, military [00:50] sources say. So, what is this story? [00:55] Here we go. [00:57] The Iranbacked Yemeni Houthi terror [00:59] group reached the Red Sea Islands of [01:02] Hanish on Thursday, two military sources [01:05] told Reuters. In addition, three anti- [01:08] Houthi Yemeni government officials also [01:11] confirmed that Houthi forces took [01:13] control of Mocha. We talked about Mocha [01:15] in that video yesterday. It's a port [01:17] city on the southwest coast of Yemen [01:20] that had been a governmentbacked uh port [01:24] city. very important for the supply [01:25] lines from there inland to mo uh so they [01:29] took the Houthis took took control of [01:31] Mocha less than 50 miles from the Baba [01:34] Mandab straight Arab media outlets first [01:36] reported that Yemeni government forces [01:38] had withdrawn from the city on Thursday [01:40] morning that's this morning as the [01:42] Houthis advanced and online social media [01:44] posts displayed photos and videos of [01:46] Houthi fighters within the city the [01:49] capture of Mocha represents a [01:51] significant achievement for the Houthis [01:53] enabling them to deepen their control [01:55] over the Red Sea in Babamanda. This is [01:57] even worse than it was before because [01:58] Mocha was not a Houthi held port before [02:02] this. This is this is really bad. [02:05] However, the National Resistance Front, [02:08] that's the government forces, a [02:09] coalition of anti-Houthi forces led by [02:12] former Houthi ally and senior member of [02:14] the Yemen government, Tarella, said that [02:17] a force commander led a military [02:19] contingent into Moch on Thursday [02:21] morning. So, they are fighting back. [02:24] Now, what happened here? How come we [02:26] were fooled yesterday or how come we got [02:28] the wrong So, this is Ariel Osaran. He [02:31] is uh he's the senior Middle East [02:33] correspondent for I24 News, and he makes [02:35] sense of it. What happened in Yemen over [02:37] the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, [02:41] Saudibacked Yemeni forces announced they [02:43] had made significant achievements on the [02:46] ground in the north and central desert [02:48] areas and appeared to have broken [02:50] through Houthi lines. That's what the [02:52] video was about yesterday. You can go [02:54] ahead and watch it, but I don't know. It [02:56] kind of It wasn't exactly fake news. It [02:58] was true, but here we go. But in [03:00] reality, the Houthis simply repositioned [03:03] their forces, giving up the open areas [03:07] so they could take over the more [03:08] important western coastline. [03:12] By Thursday morning, Iranianbacked [03:14] militia seized the strategic coastline [03:17] port city of Mocha after government [03:20] forces retreated on mass. [03:23] Whoa. Let me show you what this means. [03:26] Here's the map. [03:28] Okay, here's Mocha, the port. Now, if [03:30] you take a look at the whole map of [03:32] Yemen, here's the map of Yemen. Here's [03:34] Al- Huda right up here. Al-Huda [03:38] is is the is the Houthi port city and [03:42] Mocha which is down here has hadn't been [03:46] in control of the Houthis. It was the [03:48] government port, but the Houthis [03:50] basically pulled back their forces from [03:53] these desert and inland areas where I [03:55] was reporting all those advances by the [03:57] government forces and they just re they [04:00] just brought their forces out to the [04:02] coastline and focused on the coast so [04:04] that they could take the more strategic [04:06] areas in terms of disrupting traffic or [04:09] or gaining control over Babel Mandev. [04:12] And this red pin here is those islands [04:15] that were mentioned. This is the Hanish [04:17] islands. The Houthis sees these today. [04:20] So in so today the Houthi sees these [04:23] islands and Mocha giving them far more [04:26] control over the straight of Hormuz. But [04:28] Ariel Ocaran goes on. And so [04:32] rather than an overwhelming blitz by [04:34] Saudib backed forces that we reported [04:36] yesterday, the sides essentially swapped [04:39] territories with the Houthis gaining the [04:42] strategic coastline along the Red Sea. [04:45] This will allow them to pose a more [04:47] direct threat to shipping in the Baband [04:50] Strait, thus increasing the threat to [04:53] Saudi Arabia. A former Yemeni military [04:56] official tells me that the boasting by [04:58] Yemen government forces yesterday that I [05:01] reported on was actually a cover for [05:04] their losses on the coastline. [05:07] They were just being, you know, this is [05:09] the way in the Middle East. You know, [05:11] talk about, you know, everyone always is [05:13] always declaring victory and and you [05:14] know, you know, thumping their chest. [05:17] So, they were actually losing on the [05:19] coastline and talking about their gains [05:21] inland. Of course, they had gains [05:22] inland. The Houthis were seeding that [05:24] because they were concentrating their [05:25] forces on the more strategically [05:27] important coast. The only way to turn [05:30] the tide, he says, is for Saudi Arabia [05:32] to get more involved and activate the [05:34] Mecca Accord that throwing Turkey and [05:37] Pakistan into the mix. just uh just a [05:40] level set here. The Mecca Accord is the [05:42] agreement signed last month between [05:44] [snorts] Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi [05:47] Arabia that if any of them are under [05:49] attack, all of them are under attack and [05:51] are all supposed to join. It was [05:53] described by the foreign minister of [05:55] Turkey at the time, Hakan Fedan, as [05:57] similar to article 5 of NATO, which mean [06:00] which means again if any of them is [06:02] attacked, they are all attacked and [06:03] they're all supposed to join. And since [06:05] Saudi Arabia is being attacked by the [06:06] Houthis, [06:08] what they're what they're saying is the [06:10] only real way to push back here is if [06:12] there's overwhelming force that comes in [06:13] to deal with the Houthis. Personally, he [06:16] says, I'm doubtful this will [06:17] materialize, but time will tell. Stay [06:21] tuned. Okay, so this is this is really [06:24] bad. And frankly, look, [laughter] I [06:27] said when the when the Mecca Accord was [06:28] signed, I said there's no way anyone is [06:31] going to keep this because no one ever [06:32] keeps agreements like this, these [06:34] defense agreements, security agreements [06:35] in the Middle East. These Arab [06:37] countries, they never keep any agreement [06:39] that they sign. So I I don't see the [06:42] Turks and the and the Pakistanis [06:44] stepping in here. Although Pakistan has [06:48] started to speak up about this, [06:51] I'll give you my take on on why I think [06:53] the Houthis decided to give up on the [06:55] inland territory and focus on the coast. [06:57] I mean, some of it's sort of obvious. [06:58] They want to control Babel Mandeb, [07:01] but there's I think there's a little [07:03] more to it than that. So, look at this [07:05] headline also from today. Iran doesn't [07:07] control Houthis. Pakistan warns Iran to [07:10] reign in Houthis as strikes on Saudi [07:13] Arabia escalate. Saudi, Pakistani and [07:16] Iranian sources tell Reuters that [07:18] Islamabad delivered a warning to Thran [07:22] after Houthi attacks wounded 73 people [07:24] at the Saudi air base and oil [07:26] infrastructure. That that was what I [07:28] reported on yesterday. Pakistan [07:30] reportedly delivered a Saudi warning to [07:32] Iran to rein its Houthi allies after the [07:35] group struck an air base in Kamis Mushet [07:39] and nearby oil infrastructure Tuesday. [07:41] This according to Saudi, Pakistani and [07:43] Iranian sources cited by Houthis, I'm [07:46] sorry, a s cited by Reuters. [07:49] Okay, that a senior regional diplomat [07:51] said Pakistan conveyed its warning to [07:53] Thran urging Iran to use its influence [07:56] to stop the Houthi attacks. A senior [07:59] Iranian official confirmed Pakistan [08:01] delivered the message Tuesday, but said [08:03] Thran respond responded that Iran [08:05] doesn't control the Houthis. However, [08:08] two Iranian sources told Reuters that [08:10] tan had in fact instructed the Houthis [08:14] last week to escalate attacks on Saudi [08:16] Arabia, promising additional funding and [08:20] weapons while several Islamic [08:21] Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders [08:24] traveled to Yemen to help coordinate the [08:26] strikes. A Pakistani source said Saudi [08:29] officials met with senior Pakistani and [08:32] Turkish military repres representatives [08:34] in Riad to coordinate a response. So [08:37] that's the Mecca group agreeing that [08:40] none of the three countries troops would [08:41] enter Yemen and that any retaliation [08:44] would be launched from Saudi territory. [08:46] Look, [08:49] these Arab countries and Muslim [08:51] countries are all, this is one of the [08:53] themes I've been harping on, they're all [08:55] wimps. They have these massive [08:57] militaries and they never are willing to [08:59] actually use them to solve the threats [09:02] against them. [09:04] So no, they have this agreement. They're [09:06] not going to go in there. They're not [09:08] going to actually solve the problem [09:09] because they don't actually care about [09:10] solving problems. You got to remember [09:11] these countries are all despotic [09:14] totalitarian regimes. The people at the [09:16] top don't actually want to risk anything [09:18] to help anyone else. They don't really [09:19] care about about these situations. They [09:21] don't want their own infrastructure [09:23] getting hit. They don't want to get [09:24] bombed, but they're never going to risk [09:26] anything. They're never going to [09:27] actually use all the capabilities they [09:29] have to do anything. [09:31] So, they're only going to launch some [09:33] retaliation from Saudi territory. [09:36] You see, it's the Shiites, these evil [09:38] Shiites, the Iranian proxies, [09:41] Kamas. Well, Kamas isn't Shiite, but [09:43] they're an Iranian proxy. Isbah the [09:45] Houthis these guys fight [09:49] these Sunni regimes these Sunni [09:52] monarchies and dictatorships they don't [09:54] really fight a second Pakistani source [09:57] said no decision had been made to join [09:59] retaliatory strikes stressing the pact [10:01] with Riad is defensive and limited to [10:04] protecting Saudi territory well Saudi [10:06] territory is under attack by the Houthis [10:09] I mean I I don't really care but you see [10:12] what's happening here. [10:15] Anyway, that's that's that's what's [10:17] going on here. So, so the Pakistanis [10:19] are, you know, sent a message to Iran to [10:21] reign in the Houthis and Iran said, [10:22] "Well, we don't control the Houthis, [10:25] but Iranian arms and advice helped [10:28] Yemen's Houthis seize Red Key Red Sea [10:31] City." This was this was posted by [10:33] Reuters just about two hours ago. [10:36] The lightning Houthi advance down [10:38] Yemen's Red Sea coast this week came [10:41] with direct guidance from Iran's [10:43] revolutionary guards seeking to open a [10:46] new front in Iran's war with the US. [10:48] According to Yemeni government, Iranian [10:50] and regional sources, by seizing the [10:53] southwestern port city of Mocha, the [10:55] Houthis have strengthened their chokeold [10:57] on the Babamande Strait, a key waterway [10:59] whose disruption further constricts [11:01] global energy supplies after Iran's [11:04] blockade of the straight of Hormuz. Iran [11:06] told the Houthis last week to escalate [11:08] their attacks on Saudi Arabia. We just [11:10] mentioned that. [11:12] While Iran describes the Houthis as an [11:14] ally, it publicly denies giving them [11:16] military direction, saying they're not a [11:17] proxy. Several senior Revolutionary [11:20] Guard commanders had already traveled to [11:22] Yemen to oversee and command Houthi [11:25] attacks directed against Saudi Arabia [11:27] after weeks of discussion over military [11:29] strategy, a regional diplomat briefed by [11:32] Tehran said. A third Iranian source, an [11:35] official, said Iran had held several [11:38] meetings with allies, including the [11:40] Houthis, and that the move on Mocha was [11:42] a Houthi rather than Iranian decision. [11:44] However, it helped Iran by putting [11:47] upward pressure on oil prices and [11:49] hurting the United States and Saudi [11:50] Arabia, the official added. [11:53] Now, let me explain. Look where look [11:57] where this coastal region is. Mocha [11:59] right down here right by the the the [12:01] real choke point of Babel Mandeb and you [12:04] have these islands the Houthis made a a [12:07] dash down the coast to seize the whole [12:09] coastal area. They're going to keep [12:11] going [12:13] and that is designed to cause a spike in [12:16] oil prices. You see what's happening out [12:18] in Hormuz. Let's pull back the camera [12:20] and talk about what's really going on. [12:23] The Iranians have have been losing on [12:26] Hormuz. We see what's going on there. [12:27] Their tankers are getting hit. The [12:29] Americans are basically controlling the [12:31] straight to a great extent. Lots of oils [12:33] getting out there. So the Iranians [12:35] looked at the Houthis and said, "Guys, [12:37] forget about the inland areas. Forget [12:39] about control of the Yemen territory [12:42] that you guys have been ruling. Give up [12:44] on some of that. Get the coast. Get [12:47] Babal Mandep." [12:49] And that's what the Houthis did. That's [12:51] why they were willing to move troops and [12:54] give up some territory in the inland [12:57] and go there. You see, traditionally, [12:59] like if you just think about the Houthis [13:01] in isolation of Iran, the most important [13:03] thing to them is controlling their their [13:07] area of Yemen and expanding their [13:08] control. They want to rule Yemen. [13:11] to to give up on some territory in Yemen [13:14] and focus on the coast. That's for the [13:16] sake of disrupting of disrupting uh the [13:20] Babamandib Strait causing a spike in oil [13:22] prices. That's very obviously a play to [13:26] help the Iranians in the bigger picture. [13:28] This is what's going on here. Like whoa. [13:34] Inside Yemen, five military sources from [13:37] the Saudibbeed and internationally [13:38] recognized government [13:41] said the revolutionary guards had [13:42] directed the new Houthi campaign along [13:44] the Red Sea coast, a flat narrow plane [13:48] known as the Tahama, starting with a [13:50] blitz of rocket fire. You see this is [13:52] you can sort of see the topography there [13:53] where it gets a little bit lighter. This [13:54] this whole area is a flat coastal plane [13:58] and the Houthis just went blitzing down [14:01] the coast all the way down to Mocha [14:03] where they before they only really came [14:05] you know Alhudu dada was their port now [14:06] they have Mocha too. This is uh it's bad [14:09] news. [14:11] Citing communications intercepts and the [14:13] and accounts of captured Houthi [14:14] prisoners, the Yemeni military sources [14:17] said they believed the Iranian effort [14:18] was being directed by Abdul Resza [14:20] Shalet, a top revolutionary guard [14:23] commander, an Iranian guy. The guards [14:26] were still able to move weapons and [14:27] personnel in and out of Yemen despite [14:30] the blockade of Houthi areas, the [14:32] Iranian sources said without elaborating [14:34] on how they did so. As the Houthis began [14:37] an advance toward Mocha last week, [14:39] Yemen's government requested more air [14:42] support and other help from the Saudis. [14:44] Now, here's this goes back to what I [14:46] said about how the Saudis never really [14:48] want to fight even though they have they [14:49] have this incredible amount of advanced [14:52] military equipment. They never want to [14:53] use it. So, here, [14:57] you know, the Ye the Houthis are [14:59] advancing. The Yemenes are like freaking [15:01] out and they turn to the Saudis and they [15:02] say, "Come on, we need your help." [15:04] However, the kingdom stuck to providing [15:07] logistical armament and intelligence [15:09] support with only limited air strikes [15:11] that were focused on northern [15:13] battlefronts in Jou and Marib provinces, [15:15] areas the government regarded as less [15:18] important. That's the inland. Maribb is [15:20] in here. That's these areas. Jou and [15:22] Marib, that's in here. [15:25] But that's not what they needed. They [15:27] needed to control the coast. You see, [15:29] this is the Saudis. The Saudis. [15:32] [sighs and gasps] [15:33] What's the Saudis interest here? Don't [15:35] they want Don't they realize that for [15:37] them having the Red Sea lane open is the [15:40] most important thing, but they're just [15:42] not willing to actually fight. The [15:45] officials own assessment, here you go, [15:47] was that Riad was anxious to avoid a [15:49] major escalation with the Houthis for [15:51] fear of provoking heavier drone strikes [15:54] on Saudi territory. You have air [15:56] defenses. You have a powerful air force. [16:00] Well, and and so you're willing to give [16:02] up on the strategic importance of the [16:04] Baba Mandab Strait and allow the Houthis [16:07] to overrun the Yemeni forces and take [16:09] Mocha and take the coast because you [16:12] don't want to you don't want a few drone [16:14] strikes in your territory. You you want [16:16] to avoid drone strikes. It's war. Saudi [16:19] officials did not immediately respond to [16:21] Reuters's request for comment. I I [16:23] wonder why on Riad's military focus on [16:26] the northern front rather than the Red [16:27] Sea coast and other big Houthi targets. [16:29] It's the Saudi the Saudis. [16:32] The Saudis make mistakes all the time. [16:35] It's who they are. Now, before I sign [16:38] off here, u I I want to remind you that [16:41] we have a very important webinar on [16:43] Monday that you don't want to miss. Our [16:45] webinars, if you've been to our other [16:46] webinars, the last two we had were [16:47] great. They were attended by thousands [16:49] of people. And we're doing a web a [16:50] webinar to commemorate 25 years since [16:53] 911. [16:54] Uh, and it's Monday, Monday 2:00 p.m. [16:57] Eastern time, 9:00 p.m. in Israel. But [16:59] if you register, uh, you can attend it [17:01] live or by registering you will receive [17:04] an email with the full webinar [17:06] afterwards. We're going to have three [17:08] testimonials from that day. Very [17:10] interesting different testimonials. [17:11] Frank Gaffne from um the uh he's the [17:14] president of the Institute for the [17:15] American Future and a veteran of the [17:18] defense and security policy space in [17:19] Washington DC, worked in the Reagan [17:22] administration and a mentor of mine and [17:24] he's also the host of Securing America, [17:25] a show on Real America's Voice. He'll be [17:28] sharing his personal account. And the [17:29] reason [snorts] I I brought Frank onto [17:31] this one besides him being a friend of [17:32] mine is that Frank has been warning [17:34] about Islamic terrorism in America for [17:37] decades, decades even before 9/11. So he [17:40] experienced it in a very unique way. Dan [17:42] Burmaui is an author and the founder of [17:44] the ideological defense institute and [17:47] he's a former Muslim from Jordan. He [17:49] grew up in Jordan. Now he's a Christian [17:50] living in America, but he's he's a [17:53] brilliant thinker. And when 911 [17:55] happened, he was still a devout Muslim [17:57] and he's going to share his experience [17:59] from that perspective, which should be [18:00] fascinating. [18:02] and Jeffrey Morgan Stern whose sister [18:06] Nancy was murdered was one of the [18:08] victims of the 911 attacks and he's [18:11] going to share that experience as well. [18:13] This is going to be a very uh it's going [18:15] to be a riveting [18:17] um webinar and you want to sign up for [18:21] this. So go to the link in the [18:22] description of this video. There's a [18:24] link there or you can go to the web the [18:25] web uh uh site israel365.com [18:30] 911 911 or you can uh scan the QR code [18:36] uh that is on your screen right now and [18:37] make sure that you're signed up for the [18:39] webinar. It's free of charge and uh you [18:42] don't want to miss this. All right, [18:44] folks. Listen, the Houthi situation is [18:46] bad. We don't know uh we don't know [18:49] where it is headed, but right now the [18:51] Houthis have taken the southern coast. [18:53] This has implications for the Iran war. [18:55] The Iranians got what they wanted here [18:57] or they're getting what they want. If [18:59] the Saudis and the Pakistanis and the [19:01] Turks [19:03] through their alliance, whatever it is, [19:05] or the Saudis, really the Saudis should [19:07] be taking care of this. But is everyone [19:09] waiting for the Americans to solve every [19:10] problem? I mean, it is going to cause [19:13] oil prices to go up higher. This is [19:15] really, you know, the Iranians lost on [19:16] her moves. This is how I interpret this. [19:18] The Iranians are losing on Hermuz. So [19:20] they're putting the squeeze on the [19:22] Houthis even more to to disrupt things [19:25] in Babel Mandeb because if they can't [19:26] have Hermuz at least they can have Babel [19:28] Mandeb and they could cause more more [19:30] disruptions. Spikes in oil prices is [19:32] what they want. And one of the [19:34] interesting ways that you see that is in [19:35] their media in Iranian state media. They [19:38] are constantly reporting [19:41] on spikes in oil prices. like meaning [19:44] they they make it like a regular news [19:46] story that you know like uh you know [19:48] every spike in oil prices they want to [19:50] amplify. So you have this of you know [19:52] for example [19:55] um you know for example you know today [19:58] in Wana they jumped on this and and [20:03] Brent crude surges above 105 amid [20:05] straight of Hormuz traffic decline. Now [20:07] it's not it's the straight of hormuz is [20:10] one of it is one of the things but the [20:12] baba mandib strait also has has a real [20:14] impact on this uh they don't mention [20:16] that in here because they want to [20:18] because they still want a message that [20:20] they control or moose but you see you [20:24] know crude oil going up is a is an [20:26] interest of theirs this is part of their [20:27] game plan so the Houthis again the [20:30] Houthis moving down the coast is not a [20:32] Yemen Houthi story alone or maybe not [20:35] even primarily [20:36] But it has everything to do with the [20:38] Iranian strategy [20:40] uh visa v the Americans. So that's my [20:44] update on Yemen. Uh I will I will keep [20:47] bringing you more updates as it as it [20:49] goes. But this is not a sideshow folks. [20:51] You know we think you know there's all [20:52] these this three- ring or or 10 ring [20:54] circus in the Middle East and it's like [20:55] okay now we're talking about the [20:56] Houthis. You know I want to f you know [20:58] some of you are thinking I'd rather [20:59] focus on Iran or Gaza or what you seem [21:01] to be like the main event. Folks this is [21:03] the main event. It's all the main event. [21:04] These are all interconnected stories and [21:07] and in order to really understand what's [21:08] going on. This is part of what I this is [21:10] what I try to do on this channel, you [21:11] really need to pay attention to all the [21:13] different interconnected pieces so that [21:15] we really understand the dynamics here. [21:17] Okay, that's it for this one. Please [21:19] like, subscribe, share, all that great [21:21] stuff and tell others what we're doing [21:23] on this channel. And oh, thank you all [21:25] for helping this channel reach over a [21:28] 100,000 subscribers. We passed that uh [21:30] last night and it's a huge milestone. [21:32] I'm very grateful to all of you. And it [21:34] happened in like in in eight months [21:37] happened, you know, since January. And [21:38] and that's really remarkable. And uh you [21:41] know, thank you all for making that [21:42] happen.
