Transcript [00:00] Hey everybody. So, things are escalating [00:04] in the tensions between the Houthis and [00:07] the Saudis. I made a video about this [00:09] last week and uh it's a story that is [00:12] going to be in the headlines a lot more [00:14] in the coming days. There was a headline [00:17] just now, just literally from a few [00:19] hours ago today, that a Saudi tanker [00:22] uh an oil tanker was hit in the Strait [00:24] of Hormuz this morning by the Iranians [00:26] and we're going to get to that story at [00:28] the end of this video and I want to put [00:29] it in the context of the larger tensions [00:32] that are going on between the Houthis [00:35] and the Saudis because of of course the [00:37] Houthis are an Iranian proxy. So, let's [00:39] get to the headlines uh that we have [00:41] here. This is So, this is kind of a [00:43] follow-up. We are continuing to follow [00:44] the story of what's happening in Yemen [00:46] with the Saudis. That's what this video [00:48] is about. Yemen's Houthis threaten Saudi [00:51] Arabia for allegedly preventing Iranian [00:54] plane from landing. [00:56] Yemen's Houthis on Friday, this is just [00:59] a few days ago, threatened Saudi [01:00] airports and vital assets should Riyadh [01:04] violate its airspace or attempt to [01:06] attack it as the rebels accused the [01:09] kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian [01:11] plane from landing. [01:13] What's this about? The threats followed [01:15] a time of relative calm between Saudi [01:17] Arabia and the Iran-backed rebels, which [01:19] did not target Gulf states during the [01:21] Middle East war that saw Iran pummel its [01:23] oil-rich neighbors. [01:25] Quote, "We warn the criminal Saudi enemy [01:28] against repeating any attempt to violate [01:31] our airspace or any aggression targeting [01:34] our country," Houthi military spokesman [01:36] Yahya Saree said in a video statement. [01:39] "Such actions will be met with a [01:40] comprehensive response targeting its [01:42] airports and vital interests on land and [01:44] sea." [01:46] Saree said the rebels had thwarted an [01:47] attempt by Saudi warplanes to infiltrate [01:51] their airspace at 5:20 a.m. in a bid to [01:54] prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft [01:58] carrying more than 200 stranded, [02:01] wounded, and sick citizens from landing [02:04] at Sana'a International Airport. [02:07] Houthi media earlier reported [02:10] that the aircraft had headed back to [02:12] Tehran carrying the Houthi delegation [02:15] meant [snorts] to attend the funeral of [02:17] Iran's former supreme leader killed in [02:19] US-Israeli strikes that triggered the [02:21] Middle East war on February 28th. The [02:23] rebels said that their fighters were [02:24] ready for any options and that their [02:26] fingers are on the trigger to implement [02:28] directives aimed at breaking the [02:30] Saudi-American siege without providing [02:32] further details. The renewed threats [02:34] came months after the Saudi-backed [02:35] Yemeni government and the Houthis had [02:37] agreed to their largest prisoner [02:39] exchange confirmed in May, which [02:41] included includes seven Saudi nationals. [02:47] Okay. [02:48] Um [02:49] so that's so they claim that the that [02:51] there was this airplane that had more [02:54] than 200 stranded, wounded, and sick [02:57] citizens from Yemen and the Saudis were [02:59] preventing it from landing. [03:01] Uh and then they said that the aircraft [03:03] then went back to Tehran carrying the [03:05] Houthi delegation to the funeral. [03:09] So what actually happened here? Yemen's [03:11] Houthis threatened strikes on Saudi [03:13] airports over Iranian flight. This is [03:14] the same This is basically the same [03:16] story. The Saudi-led coalition that the [03:18] Houthis were uh [03:20] uh [03:21] said Now, remember the Saudis [03:23] brought together a lot of different you [03:25] know, the different militias in Yemen [03:27] and are trying to consolidate this [03:30] anti-Houthi [03:31] force in Yemen. [03:33] We talked about that in the previous [03:35] video. So that Saudi-led coalition said [03:38] the statements by the Houthis were an [03:39] attempt to divert attention away from [03:42] the group's violations against the [03:43] Yemeni people. Yemen's Houthis said on [03:46] Friday its forces confronted a Saudi war [03:48] planes. We already read about that. [03:51] Um [03:54] Saudi Arabia led a military coalition [03:56] that intervened in Yemen in 2015 after [03:59] the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa. [04:00] Early on Saturday, [04:02] the Saudi-led coalition said the [04:04] statements by the Houthis against the [04:05] kingdom were an attempt to divert [04:07] attention away from their violations [04:08] against the Yemeni people. It warned [04:10] that it would respond firmly with [04:12] unprecedented force to any attempts to [04:15] target the kingdom or violations to [04:16] Yemen's sovereignty. So, everyone's [04:18] Everyone's talking tough right now. The [04:20] The The Houthis are saying, "We're going [04:21] to strike Riyadh. We're going to strike [04:23] Saudi assets." And then the kingdom is [04:26] responding or the Saudi-led coalition is [04:28] responding that we're going to we're [04:30] going to hit the Houthis hard if they if [04:32] they try anything. [04:35] Meanwhile, let's go to Iranian state [04:37] media. How are they uh talking about [04:40] this escalation? "Blockade and threats [04:43] failed to prevent Yemeni delegation's [04:45] visit to Tehran." Haha. They tried to [04:48] stop the Yemeni delegation from coming [04:50] to Tehran. [04:51] Abdul Majeed al-Houthi, leader of [04:53] Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, the [04:54] Houthis, said the Yemeni delegation [04:57] reached Tehran despite what he described [04:59] as a blockade and military threats. He [05:01] claimed that as the delegation departed, [05:03] the airport was under siege while Saudi [05:06] and Israeli warplanes flew overhead in [05:09] an attempt to prevent the Iranian [05:11] aircraft from taking off or landing. [05:13] Highly unlikely that Israeli warplanes [05:15] were down there hovering over the Sanaa [05:17] airport to try to with Saudi aircraft to [05:20] try to prevent this plane airplane from [05:23] flying from Sanaa to Tehran. Highly [05:26] highly unlikely, but that's what they're [05:28] claiming. Al-Houthi said the Iranian [05:30] plane and the Yemeni delegation overcame [05:32] the enemy's blockade and dominance [05:34] and successfully arrived in Tehran. He [05:37] also stated that Yemen would not [05:39] surrender to the United States or Israel [05:41] adding that the movement views martyrdom [05:43] as a source of honor and victory. [05:45] Earlier, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, [05:47] spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces, [05:50] he's a spokesman for the Houthis, said a [05:52] formation of Saudi fighter jets violated [05:54] Yemeni airspace in an attempt to prevent [05:57] an Iranian civilian aircraft from [05:59] landing. [06:00] Saree said the Saudi attempt to block [06:01] the aircraft's landing was thwarted by [06:03] the Yemeni armed forces allowing the [06:05] plane to land safely. He added that the [06:07] Yemeni air defense units fired several [06:10] surface-to-air missiles at the Saudi [06:11] warplanes forcing them to withdraw from [06:14] Yemeni airspace. [06:16] And then he warned Saudi Arabia against [06:17] further violations. [06:20] Okay. [06:21] Now, [06:23] this was reported then yesterday. Yemen [06:26] warns Bab-el-Mandeb Strait will be [06:28] closed to Saudi shipping. [06:31] Ah. [06:32] Yemen has warned to completely close the [06:34] strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi [06:37] Arabian vessels [06:39] if a naval and aerial blockade imposed [06:41] by Saudi Arabia and the United States is [06:42] not lifted. [06:44] As Yemen awaits a second civilian flight [06:46] by Iran's Mahan Air in the coming hours, [06:50] media outlets quoted informed sources [06:53] rep- [06:54] Media outlets quoting informed sources [06:56] report that the Ansar Allah movement, [06:58] that's the Houthis, is considering [07:00] leveraging control of the Bab-el-Mandeb [07:01] Strait to pressure Riyadh. According to [07:03] these sources, Yemen has given the [07:05] United Nations and Saudi Arabia a [07:07] deadline to lift all restrictions on [07:09] maritime traffic at Yemeni ports. If [07:12] Saudi Arabia ignores the warning, Yemeni [07:14] armed forces will block Saudi shipping [07:16] in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb [07:18] Strait. [07:20] Khaled al-Shayef, the director of Sana's [07:22] International Airport, confirmed new [07:23] arrangements to resume flights noting [07:26] that these plans include new [07:27] destinations. Al-Shayef defended the [07:29] resumption of flights between Sana'a and [07:31] Tehran asserting they are entirely [07:33] legal. Meanwhile, Riyadh has escalated [07:35] tensions. Major General Turki al-Maliki, [07:39] spokesperson for the Saudi-led [07:40] coalition, stated that Riyadh would [07:42] counter any attempt to target Saudi [07:44] territory. Ansar Allah countered by [07:47] reiterating its threat to play the Bab [07:49] al-Mandab card to force an end to the [07:51] siege imposed on Yemen. [07:54] All right, so the the Saudis have this [07:55] blockade on Yemen going on now. Yemeni [07:58] armed forces started stated last Friday [08:00] that they successfully neutralized the [08:01] Saudi attempt to prevent an Iranian [08:04] civilian aircraft from landing at Sana'a [08:05] Airport. [08:07] Uh the Yemeni side confirmed that the [08:09] Iranian aircraft landed successfully, [08:11] disembarked its passengers, and returned [08:13] to Tehran with a new manifest of [08:14] passengers. [08:16] Jalal al-Rowaishan, Yemen's Deputy Prime [08:18] Minister for Defense and Security [08:20] Affairs, responded directly to the Saudi [08:22] coalition's warnings, vowing to end [08:25] Saudi and American bullying. [08:28] He said that Yemen will break the [08:30] restrictions imposed on its maritime and [08:32] air traffic, emphasizing Sana'a's combat [08:34] readiness for any emergency. [08:38] Additionally, Abdullalah al-Nuaimi, a [08:40] member of the Ansar Allah political [08:42] bureau, the Houthis, warned Saudi Arabia [08:44] may decide to enter a new war against [08:46] Yemen, but will not be able to stop it, [08:48] and the situation will spiral out of [08:50] control. [08:52] And a cargo vessel in the Red Sea [08:54] reports coming under attack. This was [08:56] reported yesterday by the UKMTO, the UK [08:59] Maritime Trade Operations Center. [09:02] Uh reported that a cargo vessel in the [09:03] Red Sea has come under attack. The [09:06] British Maritime Service reported that a [09:08] cargo vessel has triggered a distress [09:10] alert stating that they are under attack [09:12] by unknown assailants. [09:14] It urged vessels to transit with [09:16] caution. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in [09:17] Yemen attacked commercial ships from [09:19] 2023 to 2025. [09:22] While the Strait of Hormuz is one of the [09:24] world's most important choke points, the [09:26] Bab al-Mandab Strait is another key [09:28] transit route. [09:31] Saudi Arabia surged oil flows through [09:33] through the East-West pipeline after [09:35] Hormuz closed, redirecting millions of [09:37] barrels a day to the Red Sea. Those [09:39] barrels are transiting the Bab el Mandeb [09:41] to Asia, which has helped offset some of [09:44] the lost supply to key economies like [09:46] Japan and South Korea. What the Saudis [09:48] are doing is they're sending their oil [09:50] across to the Red Sea and then down [09:53] through [09:54] down through the Bab el Mandeb Strait. [09:56] So, it seems that the Yemenis are trying [09:58] to disrupt Saudi shipments of oil. [10:01] That's what we're seeing there. And [10:04] Yemeni This is from Arab News, which is [10:06] a Saudi outlet. Yemeni military ready [10:08] for any Houthi expola- ex- escalation, [10:12] says spokesman. And then here, when it [10:13] says Yemeni military, it doesn't mean [10:14] the Houthis. It means the Saudi-led [10:16] coalition. And look what they say about [10:19] that alleged flight that was that that [10:22] the Saudis were were trying to stop, [10:24] that Iranian flight. [10:26] So, it starts off [10:29] uh with with the same story [10:31] um about the the the uh [10:35] about the [10:36] about uh all the threats being made in [10:38] either direction. [10:40] And it says here, "Iran's operation of a [10:41] direct Mahan Air flight from the [10:43] Houthi-held Sana'a Airport is a flagrant [10:45] violation of the Yemenis Republic's of [10:48] the Yemeni Republic's sovereignty and [10:50] undermining of international laws and UN [10:52] Security Council resolutions." [10:54] He also deemed it a dangerous threat to [10:56] Yemeni and regional security. Majali [10:59] said the flight carried Iranian advisers [11:01] and members of the Revolutionary Guard [11:03] Corps. They arrived in Yemen to run [11:06] military operations alongside the [11:08] Houthis. [11:10] So, they're saying that flights from [11:11] Sana'a, which is in the [11:12] Houthi-controlled part of Yemen, back [11:14] and forth to Tehran, is how they're [11:16] shuttling these IRGC guys who are [11:18] helping [11:19] run the military operations of the [11:21] Houthis. [11:23] And they're at war in Yemen. The [11:25] Saudi-led coalition is trying to defeat [11:27] the Houthis and dislodge them dislodge [11:29] this Iranian terrorist group from [11:31] occupying a huge percentage of Yemen. [11:34] Yemen's presidential leadership council [11:36] criticized the flight saying it [11:37] demonstrates the close relations between [11:39] the Houthis and Iran. [11:44] And then it then it it just records more [11:47] of the more of the trash talking that's [11:49] going on back and forth. [11:52] Meanwhile, reported today that the [11:54] Saudis are have are trying to move more [11:56] and more oil out of the Strait of [11:57] Hormuz. Their pipeline, their East-West [11:59] pipeline, does not cover all of their [12:01] needs. 4 million barrels of Saudi crude [12:04] set to transit Strait of Hormuz. This [12:05] was reported very early this morning. [12:08] Two very large crude carriers loaded [12:09] with Saudi crude are heading for the [12:11] Strait of Hormuz. This is This was [12:13] reported early this morning and then a [12:15] few hours later this was reported. Saudi [12:18] flag crude tanker damaged near Strait of [12:20] Hormuz, sources say. So, we have this [12:23] report from [12:25] the wee hours of this morning about how [12:27] the Saudis are sending a few tankers of [12:29] crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz. [12:31] A few hours later, one of those Saudi [12:33] tankers gets attacked. [12:36] Um [12:37] a Saudi flag crude oil tanker was [12:39] damaged near the Strait of Hormuz close [12:41] to the coast of Oman. They were using [12:43] the southern route after a Qatari [12:45] liquefied natural gas tanker was struck [12:47] in the same area. The cause of the blast [12:49] was not known and the crude tanker hit [12:51] was believed to be the Wedyan [12:52] supertanker. [12:54] The Wedyan's last position was inside [12:56] the Gulf on July 3rd, according to ship [12:58] tracking data. [13:00] Saudi officials could not immediately be [13:01] reached for [13:03] comment. [13:06] Subsequently, Iran state broadcaster, [13:08] citing unnamed sources, claimed that the [13:09] oil tanker targeted the Strait of Hormuz [13:12] targeted in the Strait of Hormuz had [13:13] come under attack after attempting to [13:15] navigate the Omani transit corridor [13:18] under the protection and guidance of the [13:20] US Navy. In fact, in other words, the [13:21] Iranians are very open about the fact [13:22] that because the Saudi tanker tried to [13:25] go on the Omani route of the southern [13:27] route, closer to Oman. They attacked it [13:29] because they only want tankers traveling [13:31] through the route that they approve, so [13:33] that they can retain control over the [13:34] Strait of Hormuz. So, in the midst of [13:37] all of this tension between the Houthis [13:38] and the Saudis going on going on in [13:41] Yemen, [13:42] we see a Saudi tanker getting attacked [13:45] by the Iranians in the Strait of Hormuz [13:46] today. [13:48] We're seeing a significant escalation [13:50] between Iran and Saudi Arabia. [13:53] This Let's keep this in mind as we look [13:56] at what's going to come out of the next [13:59] round of negotiations, out of the NATO [14:00] conference, how different countries talk [14:02] about what's happening in the Strait of [14:03] Hormuz. Let's keep in mind that the [14:05] Saudis are [14:07] are and and the and the Iranians are in [14:10] a state of escalation right now. That's [14:12] what I wanted to share with you in this [14:13] video, just a a little bit of an update, [14:15] keep ourselves abreast of the events as [14:18] they happen. All right, God bless.
