Saudi Arabia is signaling its strongest intent in years to confront the Houthis, moving to reassert maritime control in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after a period of uneasy calm. On Nov. 15, Riyadh began preparations to deploy forces to the choke point, coinciding with a new U.N. Security Council resolution tightening sanctions on Yemen.

According to military officials in the Aden-based navy of the Internationally Recognized Government of Yemen (IRGY), Saudi Arabia instructed allied naval units to ready joint ship-inspection missions aimed at vessels heading to the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah. Supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, these operations shift inspections from Djibouti to the high seas—raising operational risk and placing direct pressure on the Houthis.

The renewed Saudi assertiveness follows the conclusion of the “Red Wave” naval drills on Nov. 13 at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. The exercises brought together Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Djibouti and the IRGY’s naval branch.

Aden Navy commander Abdullah al-Nakha said the drills focused on securing maritime routes and emphasized ship-inspection operations—a sign that Riyadh is preparing for a more aggressive maritime campaign.

Saudi steps dovetail with new U.N. sanctions that explicitly authorize boarding and inspecting vessels in international waters. The combination of legal cover, coalition coordination and Saudi military preparation marks a strategic tightening of the noose around Houthi maritime operations.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has expanded its information campaign. According to the Institute of the Middle East (IIMES), Riyadh allocated “millions of dollars” to pressure technology platforms to dismantle pro-Houthi networks.

Meta reportedly removed dozens of Houthi-linked accounts, prompting the group to claim the action proved Saudi-led censorship of “voices of resistance.”

This information campaign fits into a decade-long pattern. Facebook confirmed in 2019 that it removed more than 200 accounts tied to a Saudi-origin influence network, and multiple academic studies have documented extensive Saudi government–linked activity across X (formerly Twitter).

Saudi Arabia’s renewed pressure on the Houthis reflects its broader rivalry with Iran. As The Cairo Review of Global Affairs recently noted, Tehran views Yemen as “a strategic corridor that guarantees operational access to Saudi Arabia’s inland during a hypothetical conflict.”

Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) Iran expert Maj. (res.) Alexander Grinberg told JNS that Saudi escalation signals a willingness to challenge the Iranian-Houthi axis more directly: “According to these reports, the Saudis are intending a large-scale operation against the Houthis. If they do that, it will be a clear indication that they don’t care about their agreement with Iran,” he said.

Grinberg argued that the regional landscape has shifted sharply since the Trump presidency and Israel’s dismantling of Iranian proxies.

“Everyone understands that Iran is weak because it has lost all its pieces on the chessboard. It doesn’t have an axis of resistance anymore, and it lost its deterrence,” he added.

The Houthis responded with characteristic bravado, claiming “victories over America,” boasting of “expelling” U.S. naval forces, and even declaring the “closure” of Eilat—using the Arabic name “Um al-Rashrash.”

Houthi officials amplified accusations that Saudi Arabia paid Meta to remove their accounts. Mohammed al-Buhaiti warned that the war would end only under “Abdelmalik al-Houthi rule in Sanaa or his rule from Medina or Jeddah.”

Meanwhile, Houthi-controlled Yemen shows signs of heightened internal repression. Authorities intensified espionage arrests, with courts issuing death sentences for 17 alleged spies this week. The Houthis claimed to have dismantled a “U.S.-Saudi-Israeli Joint Intelligence Operations Headquarters” operating through small independent cells.

Mass rallies accompanied the trials, with slogans declaring that “anyone who defends a traitor is a traitor himself.” Houthi messaging has also expanded its propaganda lexicon to include a fictitious “17-nation anti-Houthi coalition.”

Recent Israeli strikes in Sanaa further undermined Houthi leadership morale, reportedly killing or wounding several senior figures, including Major General Mohammed al-Ghamari and Interior Minister Abdulkarim al-Houthi.

Despite fiery rhetoric, diplomatic channels remain open. U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg met Houthi and Omani officials in early November, alongside Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi.

But experts warn that miscalculations are increasingly likely. Yemeni researcher Asim al-Mujahid told IIMES that “incitement, media attacks and mutual accusations increase the likelihood of miscalculations,” noting that Saudi naval maneuvers signal “a re-evaluation [of policy] and deterrence,” though not necessarily war.

Both sides may prefer limited friction—drones, naval probes, and targeted strikes—over full-scale conflict. For Riyadh, the presence of joint forces in the Red Sea widens tactical options. For the Houthis, rhetoric bolsters domestic legitimacy as a “resistance movement.”

Grinberg argued that if escalation continues, it could indicate Saudi willingness to advance normalization with Israel.

“It looks like the Saudis are launching a balloon to test the waters,” he said. “The Houthis were used to bleeding the Saudis, and it was only stopped by Iran under the conditions that the Saudis stop trying to move into Yemen and forget about even dreaming about normalizing with Israel.”

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