A Houthi military adviser told AFP that the group would attack U.S. interests in the West Asia if Washington intervenes in Yemen’s conflict in support of Saudi Arabia or tries to unblock the Bab al-Mandab strait.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized control of the narrow shipping lane, gateway to the Red Sea, this month, while Saudi Arabia has reportedly requested American and international military assistance against them.

“If America dares to intervene militarily with its fleets or tries to take control of Bab al-Mandab, it is a red line for them and anyone else… we will fight over it,” military adviser Abed Mohammed al-Thawr told AFP in an exclusive interview on Tuesday (September 22, 2026).

The Houthi blockade has shaken Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, which was already hit by Tehran’s strangehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz as part of its war with the United States.

The pro-Iran Houthis dislodged Saudi-backed government forces from Yemen’s Red Sea coast in fighting that left hundreds dead. Houthi drones and missiles have also targeted Saudi sites, including the capital Riyadh for the first time in years.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested help from U.S. President Donald Trump in fighting the Houthis, according to U.S. reports. Yemen’s government also made the request, a well-placed source told AFP.

The Houthis say Saudi Arabia has conducted hundreds of strikes in Yemen since fighting resumed in July, effectively ending a four-year truce.

Iron fist

“If America gambles on supporting Saudi Arabia with airstrikes or air support… We will consider any American interests around us to be targets and we will not exclude anything,” military adviser Thawr told AFP, adding that they will “close Bab al-Mandab completely to American ships”.

While the Yemen civil war predates the U.S.-Iran war by years, renewed fighting in Yemen pits allies of Washington and Tehran against each other while the two foes are stalemated in the Gulf.

Thawr denied receiving directives from Iran, but said they are “one alliance and one body”.

“Iran is a friendly, allied, and brotherly country to us, but it does not direct us. We are independent in our decisions and in our sovereignty,” he said.

The United Nations on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) said the number of people displaced could swell from over 1,30,000 today to more than 2,30,000 in the coming months.

“As long as Saudi Arabia insists on and continues killing our country and striking our people, we will strike with an iron fist,” Thawr said.

“We possess sufficient capability to discipline Saudi Arabia, punish it, and force it out of the game in the fields of oil and the economy.”

Saudi ‍Arabia’s ambassador ​to Yemen said on ‌Friday ​(January 2, 2026) that Aidarus Al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), refused landing ​permission the ⁠previous day for a plane carrying ​a ⁠Saudi delegation to Aden.

The halt in flights at Aden international airport was the latest sign of a deepening crisis between Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose rivalry ​is reshaping war-torn Yemen.

“For several weeks ⁠and until yesterday, the Kingdom sought to make all efforts with the Southern Transitional Council to end the ​escalation … but it ⁠faced continuous rejection and stubbornness from Aidarus Al-Zubaidi,” the Saudi ambassador, Mohammed Al-Jaber, said on X.

Yemen’s separatist STC did not ‌immediately respond to a Reuters request for ‌comment on Mr. Jaber’s statement.

Aidarus Al-Zubaidi issued directives to close air traffic at ‍Aden airport on Thursday (January 1), the ambassador added, saying that a plane carrying a Saudi delegation ‍to Aden aiming to find solutions to the crisis was denied permission to land.

In a statement on Thursday (January 1), the STC-controlled transport ministry accused Saudi Arabia of imposing an air blockade, saying Riyadh required all flights to go via Saudi Arabia for extra ⁠checks.

The UAE backs the STC, which seized swathes of southern Yemen ​last month from the internationally recognised government, backed ⁠by Saudi Arabia, which in turn saw the move as a threat.

The Aden international airport is the main gateway for regions of the country ⁠outside Houthi control.