Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone. Uh, welcome back to me. I [00:03] I was away for uh uh I was away for most [00:06] of last week. I was on vacation, but now [00:07] I'm back. I hope you enjoyed the content [00:09] that we were posting on the channel [00:11] while I was gone. Let's hit the [00:13] headlines right away. This video is [00:15] going to be about what is going on in [00:17] Yemen with the Houthis, with Saudi [00:19] Arabia, who's involved on which sides, [00:22] and uh what are the prospects for this [00:24] war going forward. So, here we go. Trump [00:27] says Saudi Arabia may accept Israeli [00:29] help against Houthi's revive Abraham [00:32] Accords. US President Donald Trump told [00:35] reporters on Friday that Saudi Arabia [00:37] would likely accept assistance from [00:39] Israel in its fight against the Houthi [00:41] rebels in Yemen, adding that efforts to [00:43] bring the kingdom into the Abraham [00:44] Accords could be revived. When asked [00:47] whether Saudi Arabia should accept the [00:49] assistance Israel was offering against [00:51] the Houthis, Trump replied, "Yes, I [00:53] think so. I think they will do it. [00:56] Absolutely. Trump said when asked [00:57] whether he had spoken with Saudi Arabia [00:59] about the possibility, Israel has been [01:01] very helpful to Saudi Arabia. Has been [01:04] very helpful. Interesting. And yes, they [01:07] would certainly do it, he added. [01:10] And then he added that Saudi Arabia is [01:12] very happy to receive support from [01:14] Israel and from us. Okay, now that's all [01:17] very nice and good that Trump is saying [01:18] that Israel's been very helpful and that [01:20] Saudi Arabia is going to accept it and [01:22] this is all wonderful and Abraham [01:23] Accords yada yada but a couple days [01:26] earlier Saudi Arabia rejects Israeli bid [01:29] to join fight against Houthis Israeli [01:32] media and this is now here let's take [01:34] let's take this with a with a bit of a [01:36] grain of salt because this is from [01:38] Turkish state media and it's quoting [01:41] Haretsz Harets is while it's an Israeli [01:43] media outlet is notoriously [01:46] anti-Israel in its reporting. So, here's [01:48] what it says. Saudi Crown Prince [01:50] Muhammad bin Salman has rejected an [01:52] Israeli push to join the military [01:54] campaign against Yemen's Houthi group [01:57] despite efforts to secure Riyad's [01:59] approval through US mediation. The [02:02] Israeli newspaper Harris reported [02:03] Monday. The Daily, citing an unnamed [02:06] diplomatic source, said the Crown Prince [02:08] was not interested in Israeli military [02:10] assistance, fearing that cooperation [02:12] with Israel could provoke a negative [02:15] reaction among the Saudi public. Another [02:18] source familiar with the matter said [02:20] Israel hoped military cooperation with [02:22] Saudi Arabia would strengthen bilateral [02:24] ties and pave the way for a future [02:26] normalization agreement. Look, Saudi [02:28] Arabia is not going to accept any public [02:30] assistance from Israel. They're not [02:32] going to publicly purchase Israeli air [02:34] defenses. [02:36] The only assistance I could see Israel [02:38] providing to Saudi Arabia that Saudi [02:39] Arabia could [02:42] could [02:44] accept [02:46] and not lose face in front of its its [02:49] population [02:51] would be like behind the scenes [02:53] intelligence assistance, which they're [02:56] probably already accepting. They're [02:57] probably Israel's probably already [02:58] providing. That's probably what Trump [02:59] was talking about when he said that [03:01] Israel's been very helpful to the [03:03] Saudis. I just can't see Saudi Arabia [03:05] publicly accepting Israeli assistance. [03:07] It just again, despite what Trump said, [03:10] does not seem likely to me. Meanwhile, [03:14] another country that is potentially [03:16] helping Saudi Arabia is the UAE. UAE [03:19] agrees with Saudi Arabia to re-enter [03:21] Yemen conflict amid Houthi gains. And [03:23] what does this mean re-enter uh Yemen [03:25] conflict? Let me give you the [03:26] background. [03:28] for a long time, for years, [03:30] while the whole Yemen civil war was [03:33] going on, has been going on, Yemen's [03:36] been in a state of civil war pretty much [03:38] since it was born as a country. Okay? [03:40] It's always been in a state of civil war [03:41] on and off. [03:44] The [03:47] southern part of Yemen, what was in [03:50] between 1967 and 1990, [03:53] there was a South Yemen, which was a [03:55] separate country from North Yemen. were [03:57] two countries. Yemen was split. South [04:00] Yemen was a secular communist country. [04:03] Okay. The southern Yemenes [04:07] still today [04:09] have these militias that were fighting [04:12] the Houthis [04:14] were backed by the United Arab Emirates [04:17] and are separatist groups. They want to [04:20] become a separate South Yemen. Again, [04:22] they were backed by the United Arab [04:24] Emirates, [04:26] but the United Arab Emirates left Yemen. [04:29] They left the support. They stopped [04:30] funding them. They stopped backing these [04:32] groups about, well, a little less than a [04:34] year ago, about 10 months ago, when the [04:37] Saudis basically pushed the UAE out. The [04:40] Saudis didn't want the UAE backing [04:42] anyone in Yemen. They didn't want this [04:45] secular group trying to divide the [04:47] country again. and they were backing [04:51] um the the Islamists basically the [04:53] Muslim Brotherhood faction in Yemen and [04:56] the main uh internationally recognized [05:00] Yemeni government against the Houthis. [05:02] So both the UAE and the Saudis were [05:04] backing factions that were fighting the [05:05] Houthis but they were backing factions [05:07] that were at odds with each other. [05:10] UAE pulls out and now the U the the [05:14] Saudis come crawling back to the UAE [05:16] asking them to to get involved again [05:19] with their old proxy in South Yemen to [05:21] help fight the Houthis because the most [05:23] effective group fighting against the [05:26] Houthis before the UAE was pushed out [05:29] was the UAE backed Southern Transitional [05:34] Council and those those militias. So [05:37] let's keep all that in mind as we read. [05:39] The United Arab Emirates has agreed to [05:41] re-enter the Yemen conflict by resuming [05:44] payments to some government forces [05:46] fighting in Iran aligned fighting Iran [05:48] aligned Houthis in the south according [05:51] to sources in Yemen. In return, Saudi [05:53] Arabia has agreed to provide air cover [05:55] for the anti-hooti force. Southern [05:58] forces mainly in the giants brigades [06:00] were previously trained and funded by [06:03] the UAE and are regarded as some of the [06:05] most effective in the disjointed [06:07] anti-Houthi military coalition. But the [06:09] UAE quit operations inside Yemen in [06:12] January, cutting off its funding supply [06:15] line. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE [06:18] have responded to a demand this week by [06:21] southern Yemen separatists for a [06:23] referendum on secession, a move that [06:26] would restore the 1967 to 1990 borders [06:30] when Yemen was two separate states. The [06:33] separatist Southern Transition Council [06:35] has also not yet agreed for its troops [06:38] to fight outside the borders of the old [06:41] southern Yemen. But an explicit [06:43] agreement by Saudi Arabia to allow a [06:45] referendum would be like would be likely [06:48] to lead to the lifting of that [06:50] restriction. Okay, understand what's [06:51] happening here. The Saudis want these [06:54] southern groups [06:56] to join the fight against the Houthis [06:59] that they're trying to push the Houthis [07:01] back. But these groups in the south are [07:03] saying, "We have no interest in what's [07:05] going on in northwest Yemen. We're only [07:08] willing to fight the Houthis in the [07:10] areas of the old South Yemen that we [07:12] want independence in. And we're also [07:15] demanding a referendum [07:18] to fac to on independence. [07:22] If the Saudis would agree to that [07:24] referendum, then they would be willing, [07:28] they would these southern militias would [07:29] probably be willing to fight even [07:31] further north to defeat the Houthis on [07:34] behalf of the Saudis. But they have to [07:35] get something in return for it. That's [07:37] the point. There's also no direct [07:39] contact between the STC leader [07:43] al- Zubedi and Saudi officials. Zubedi [07:46] fled to Abu Dhabi in January after a [07:49] failed STC attempt to take charge across [07:52] the south and announce a referendum on [07:55] separation in two years time. In [07:58] response, the Saudis bombed UAE arm [08:00] shipments to the SDC forces. See what's [08:03] going on? This goes back a year ago. The [08:05] Saudis are do not want Yemen to be [08:08] redivided into two separate states. They [08:10] don't want this separate southern Yemen [08:13] secular UAE backed state coming into [08:16] existence. They kind of view Yemen as [08:18] their own backyard playground. They [08:21] didn't want them there. So, they [08:22] actually bombed arms shipments from the [08:24] UAE to the STC. Eventually, again, the [08:27] UAE left. And now the SDC is like, "Hey, [08:30] Saudis, you want us to get involved [08:32] against the Houthis? [08:34] You know, [08:36] you have to give us what we want." and [08:37] they want a referendum on secession. The [08:41] UAE then announced it was quitting all [08:42] involvement in Yemen and the Saudi back [08:44] government said it would seek to try [08:45] Zubeti for treason. That's what happened [08:47] last year. Meanwhile, on Friday, two [08:50] missiles fired by the Houthis struck the [08:54] airport of Aden while a passenger plane [08:56] was preparing to take off. No casualties [08:59] reported. The strike came a day after at [09:01] least five people were killed and 16 [09:04] injured in a Houthi attack on a [09:06] presidential palace in Aden. So two [09:08] attacks on Aden. Let's take a look at [09:09] where Aden is. Aden is all the way down [09:11] here. Okay, Aden is a southern port [09:13] city. It was a city. It that was part of [09:17] South Yemen. It was in the uh in the old [09:20] division of Yemen. It was part of the [09:22] that country. But the Houthis have been [09:25] shelling sites in Aden. Now why are they [09:27] shelling Aden specifically now? We'll [09:29] find out that out soon because there's a [09:31] lot of heavy fighting in the city of [09:34] Tesiz right here. And here's Aden. We're [09:36] going to get to that later in the video. [09:38] Okay, so hold on to that uh to that [09:39] detail. [09:41] And then then we have uh where Egypt [09:44] stands is also embedded in this article. [09:46] Egypt's president Cece said that he was [09:48] convening an emergency session of [09:50] parliament to grant his country's [09:52] military the powers to take action in [09:54] defense of Saudi Arabia. He stressed [09:56] that Egypt would not be taking any [09:58] offensive action and would only defend [10:00] Saudi Arabia. In the UK, discussions are [10:02] continuing about a Saudi request for [10:04] further military aid. The UA the the UK [10:07] has sent an uh a Royal Air Force Voyager [10:10] air-to-air refueling aircraft, but [10:12] regional diplomats are pressing the UK [10:14] to do more. Okay, so let's sum up what [10:16] we've seen so far. What we've seen is [10:18] that the is that Trump says, "Hey, [10:21] Israel could be helpful. Saudi Arabia [10:22] doesn't really want Israel's help." Uh, [10:25] and the UAE is tiptoeing into getting [10:28] involved about, you know, looking at um [10:32] looking at backing its old militias to [10:34] help fight the Houthis. But those [10:35] militias want, you know, they want what [10:38] they want in return. They're not so [10:40] interested in helping Saudi Arabia. They [10:41] can't stand the Saudis. Uh, but they are [10:44] willing to get involved if it will lead [10:45] to to uh to a referendum on independence [10:50] in the south. Now, let's move on. [10:53] Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia [10:55] condemn Houthi attacks on Riyad airport. [10:57] Very nice. Um, NATO member Turkey and [11:01] nuclear armed Pakistan signed a joint [11:03] defense pack with Saudi Arabia in August [11:05] under which an attack on one party [11:07] constitutes an attack on all. Last week, [11:09] the country said they had agreed to [11:11] implement their collective defense [11:12] commitments and ensure the rapid [11:14] deployment of forces and capabilities in [11:16] Saudi Arabia. So, they're they're [11:19] willing to do it. They're now saying, [11:20] "We've been following this since the [11:22] beginning of this war uh since August, [11:25] since that Mecca agreement was signed." [11:26] And shortly after that, the Houthis [11:28] started attacking the Saudis, and [11:30] Pakistan and Turkey have yet to lift a [11:32] finger. On Thursday, Foreign Minister [11:35] Hakan Fedan said Turkey was assessing [11:37] how it can help Saudi Arabia, but ruled [11:39] out troop deployment and Turkish [11:41] participation in offensive operations. [11:43] No, like we're going to help you. An [11:45] attack on one is an attack on all, but [11:47] we're not going to engage in any [11:48] offense. We're not actually going to [11:49] fight the Houthis for you. A day [11:52] earlier, official told Reuters that [11:53] Ankura was sending mainly defensive and [11:56] technical support to Riad. Turkish [11:58] support for Saudi Arabia has largely [12:00] been in a bilateral capacity so far as [12:03] Turkey's parliament has not yet [12:05] officially ratified the joint defense [12:07] pact. The agreement is expected to be [12:09] submitted to parliament in the coming [12:11] days. So, they haven't even So, they I [12:12] guess they need the Turkish parliament [12:14] to agree to the Mecca agreement, which [12:15] hasn't happened yet. Turkey, which has [12:17] NATO's second largest army and a robust [12:19] defense industry, has provided Saudi [12:21] Arabia with defense equipment and agreed [12:24] to join a Saudi coalition to ensure [12:27] navigational safety in the Red Sea. I'll [12:29] believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, the [12:31] Houthis are building an advanced missile [12:33] with Chinese parts. So, the Chinese are [12:36] helping the Houthis. The Houthis shipped [12:39] in from chi from a Chinese supplier a [12:42] range of components needed to make a [12:43] version of one of Iran's most powerful [12:45] weapons. The Kar Shakan Iranian [12:48] precisiong guided missile said a report [12:51] by conflict armament research a group [12:53] that works in conflict zones and reports [12:55] on the use of weapons and their supply [12:57] chains. The Houthi missile would have a [12:59] range of up to 1200 miles putting all of [13:01] Saudi Arabia and Israel within reach. [13:04] The conflict armament report viewed by [13:06] the Wall Street Journal before [13:07] publication was based on information [13:09] from Yemen authorities in July after [13:12] officials interdicted two shipments last [13:14] year which included missile equipment [13:17] hidden among a range of other goods. [13:18] This is coming from China. [13:21] Chinese companies are now the biggest [13:23] source of seized goods bound for the [13:25] Houthis. According to UN reports and [13:27] data gathered by arms experts, most of [13:30] the Houthi's US sanctioned drone part [13:32] suppliers are based in China. The data [13:34] show [13:36] China says it's respecting the UN ban on [13:38] arms sales to the Yemeni faction. While [13:40] some of the components imported by the [13:42] Houthis were dualuse goods which could [13:44] be used for civilian purposes, some were [13:47] parts specifically designed for missile [13:49] use. [13:52] The US last year accused the Chinese [13:54] company of helping the Houthis stage [13:55] attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea. [13:58] Conflict Armament was shown shipping [14:00] documentation for the equipment detailed [14:02] in July, which identified a Chinese [14:04] precision metal producer that advertises [14:07] itself as a specialist manufacturer of [14:09] custom aerospace parts. The company was [14:12] not named in the report. Now, let me [14:14] pause here for a second and let's let's [14:17] think about this. Why would the Chinese [14:20] be helping the Houthis? I mean, don't [14:21] the Chinese want free flow of shipping [14:24] up through Babal Mandeb, up through the [14:26] Red Sea to the Suez Canal, which they [14:28] control. Of course, they do. So, why are [14:30] they helping the Houthis against the [14:33] Saudis? [14:34] They have a good relationship with Saudi [14:36] Arabia. What's China's game here? So, I [14:39] think you have to pull back the camera [14:40] and say that China's game is helping [14:45] Iran and its proxies make life miserable [14:48] for the Americans and America's allies. [14:52] That could be what China's game is here. [14:55] You know, Xiinping is kind of a [14:57] pyromaniac. He likes to create problems [14:59] elsewhere in the world and then and then [15:01] uh and and make [15:04] you make make gains off of other [15:06] people's problems. [15:08] But you have to think geostrategically. [15:09] What is what is China gaining by helping [15:11] arm the Houthis if not harming Americans [15:15] and harming America's interests. So [15:17] that's got to be what it is. [15:19] Meanwhile, Iran is also of course [15:21] helping the Houthis. Iran is give is [15:23] giving Houthis targeting and [15:24] intelligence for attacks on Saudi [15:26] Arabia. That should not come as a [15:28] surprise to everyone. And here for a [15:29] little bit of comic relief, Iran's [15:31] Aragshi, the Iranian foreign minister [15:34] Abbas Aarshi offers to mediate Saudi [15:37] Houthi talks, calls for diplomatic end [15:40] hostilities. This is funny if it wasn't [15:42] I mean it it's uh the Iranian foreign [15:45] minister offering to be the mediator [15:48] between the Houthis and the Saudis to [15:50] end this conflict. Now, of course, they [15:52] could end the conflict because the [15:53] Houthis kind of work for them. They [15:55] could tell the Houthis to knock it off. [15:57] Although it should be added that this [15:59] this conflict in Yemen is not entirely [16:01] about Iran. So even if the Iranians ask [16:04] the Houthis to knock it off, the Houthis [16:06] are pretty independent. It's not likeah [16:07] who's wholly owned and operated by Iran. [16:10] The Houthis do have their own interests [16:12] in Yemen. Uh but the Iranians certainly [16:15] could could be effective as a mediator [16:17] but if it wasn't so laughable because [16:19] there because one of the main reasons [16:22] that the Houthis are attacking Saudi [16:24] Arabia is is in order to disrupt uh [16:27] shipping in Babel Mandeb and uh cause a [16:29] spike in the price of oil to help the [16:31] Iranians in their struggle against the [16:34] Americans. [16:36] So yeah, that's just a little like I [16:38] said sort of comic relief. Now, before [16:40] we go on, I want to tell you about a [16:41] very exciting uh program that we have [16:43] coming up and that is a webinar that is [16:46] going to be taking place on Sunday, [16:47] October 25th, 2 days before the Israeli [16:49] election. Two elections, two nations, [16:52] one critical moment. How the Israeli [16:56] American elections could reshape the [16:57] Middle East. This is a webinar again [16:59] taking place 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. Uh [17:03] 2 pm Eastern time in the United States, [17:06] 8:00 PM in Israel. there's a 6-hour time [17:08] difference because Israel will have [17:10] changed its clocks and and the United [17:12] States will have not. So, uh we're going [17:14] to be we're going to be we're going to [17:15] have a great panel of experts to talk [17:17] about the implications on the USIsrael [17:18] relationship specifically uh of the [17:21] upcoming elections. Dr. Gotti Ta, senior [17:24] lecturer at Hebrew University of [17:25] Jerusalem and a very well-known [17:27] political commentator. Mark Zel, [17:29] chairman of the Republicans overseas in [17:31] Israel. Uh Jonathan Shanzer, executive [17:34] director of the Foundation for Defense [17:36] of Democracies. Will Chamberlain, senior [17:38] counsel of the Article 3 Project and the [17:40] Internet Accountability Project, and Dr. [17:42] AJ Noli. He's a professor at the [17:45] Robertson School of Government at Regent [17:46] University. You don't want to miss this [17:48] panel. There's a lot on the line. We [17:50] have two big elections coming up and [17:51] that's what we're going to be talking [17:52] about. So, click the link in the [17:55] description of this video to sign up for [17:56] that. Or [17:59] alternatively, you could Sorry, I just [18:03] lost myself for a second. Uh you could [18:05] find this you can go to the website uh [18:07] israel365.com [18:12] and uh the webinar is what's the link [18:15] here? Yeah, it's is365.com/webinar. [18:18] Pretty simple. Uh you could also click [18:21] on the u on um [18:26] on this QR code and that'll also get you [18:29] signed up for the webinar. Okay. Okay. [18:32] So, go so make sure that you're signed [18:33] up. Uh we got the big elections coming [18:35] up. This is this is uh obviously [18:38] extremely important stuff. Okay. All [18:42] right. Um now let's get back to the [18:46] news. [18:48] Let's get back to the news. Here we are. [18:52] So, what's happening on the ground? Uh [18:55] they've been striking each other's oil [18:56] facilities. Oil facility near Yemen [18:58] capital hit by Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, [19:01] Aramco, the Saudi oil facility, their [19:04] headquarters were struck by the Houthis. [19:06] And here in Arab news, this is a Saudi [19:09] media outlet. They're they're [19:10] entertaining the question, are the [19:11] Houthis nearing defeat? And the answer [19:13] is really no. So, I'm going to cut to [19:15] the chase of this. They they start off [19:17] the article talking about all the ways [19:19] that the Houthis have been have been [19:21] strengthening themselves and how [19:22] formidable an opponent they are and how [19:25] they keep getting stronger after after [19:27] every successive war they're involved [19:29] in. Um, and then they also talk about [19:31] how much stronger they are than how much [19:34] more uh or how much harder to dislodge [19:36] they are. They have increasingly [19:38] demonstrated an ability to carry out [19:40] complex combat missions and military [19:43] operations long associated withaha [19:45] before its defeat. In fact, the Houthi's [19:47] development followed a very similar [19:49] track tobala. However, the Yemeni rebel [19:51] group enjoys advantages the Lebanese [19:54] group does not. notably the breadth of [19:56] territory it controls on land and along [19:58] the coast and the size of the population [20:01] living there. This gives the group [20:03] access to a vast pool of manpower from [20:05] which it can recruit tens of thousands [20:07] of fighters. So after laying out all the [20:10] reasons why the Houthis are very [20:11] difficult to defeat. They then in a kind [20:14] of wish uh you wishful thinking kind of [20:16] way write the following. The Houthis are [20:18] stretched extremely thin after their [20:20] territorial gains, creating an opening [20:23] for government forces to apply [20:24] additional pressure. By forcing the [20:26] Houthis to defend several fronts at [20:28] once, government forces can gradually [20:30] drain the group's resources and exhaust [20:32] its fighters. The Houthis have already [20:35] sustained heavy losses in fighters and [20:37] equipment due to a punishing government [20:39] air assault against them. When they seek [20:42] cover, they're forced into caves, [20:43] tunnels, trenches. in this rugged, [20:45] unfamiliar terrain, they're vulnerable [20:47] to ambushes. [20:49] Look, they the Houthis are not going [20:51] down so easy. Uh the Saudis of course [20:53] are dreaming of that that they can bring [20:55] them down. But let's now finish off this [20:58] video with where the fighting is [21:00] actually focused right now. Fighting [21:02] intensifies between government forces [21:04] and Houthis following an attack on the [21:06] old airport district in Tais. This is [21:09] this is fresh uh stuff. This is from [21:11] today. Let's take a look at a map. Tais [21:16] is located. So here's Yemen again. [21:18] Here's the here's the here's the country [21:20] of Yemen. Let's zoom in now. Tai is down [21:22] here. So this has become the focus of a [21:25] lot of the fighting. Taiz. And I [21:26] mentioned earlier in this video that the [21:29] Houthis have been bombing the port city [21:30] of Aden, a number of sites in Aden. So [21:34] let's put all that together in this [21:35] story. Here we go. [21:37] Yemen sources reported that fighting [21:39] intensified between Yemen government [21:41] forces and the Houthi group following an [21:44] attack launched by the groups on [21:46] neighborhoods in the old airport area [21:49] west of Taiz city amid an exchange of [21:51] shelling and the use of medium and heavy [21:53] weapons. The clash has come amid amid [21:56] escalating military operations on [21:58] several fronts in Tais province as the [22:00] Houthis continue their attempt to [22:02] advance towards strategic locations [22:04] while government forces seek to repel [22:06] the attacks and maintain their positions [22:08] and supply lines. Taiz is the focus of [22:11] the fighting. Why is the battle for [22:13] Yemen's Tais so important? Great title [22:16] for an article. Thank you, Reuters. The [22:18] city of Taiz is rapidly emerging as the [22:20] most important battlefront in Yemen's [22:22] reignited civil war, pitting the Iran [22:25] allied Houthis against the [22:26] internationally recognized government, [22:28] which is backed by a Saudiled coalition. [22:30] Houthi forces have encircled Tais in [22:33] recent weeks by cutting its main road [22:36] south to Aden, causing widespread [22:38] displacement and worsening a [22:39] humanitarian crisis. So now this brings [22:42] us back to Aden. Here's Taes. Here's [22:45] Aden. There is a windy road that [22:47] connects the two and Aden is the only [22:51] significant port city along the southern [22:54] coast and that is the main supply chain [22:58] for the anti-Huty forces the government [23:02] coalition in the Taes area. So the [23:04] bombing of Aden [23:06] is probably connected to cutting off the [23:08] supply lines uh of uh you know that were [23:12] supplying the forces that are fighting [23:14] the Houthis up in Tais. Okay, but let's [23:16] get let's go on. Any Houthi victory in [23:19] Tais, Yemen's third largest city would [23:21] mark one of the biggest turning points [23:22] in the country's long civil war which [23:25] resumed this summer after a 4-year [23:27] truce. It's important to note the [23:29] fighting going on this summer in Yemen [23:30] is not anything new. It is the [23:32] resumption is it is the resumption of an [23:35] ongoing civil war that's been going on [23:37] in Yemen basically forever for decades. [23:40] Tais city has an estimated population of [23:42] almost 600,000 said Katya Urick [23:45] Adenbased head of programs for the [23:47] international organization for [23:49] migration. Government sources said [23:51] 80,000 had fled in the latest fighting. [23:54] Tiza has been on the front line between [23:56] the Houthis and the government since [23:57] 2015 and has long been a bastion of [24:00] opposition to the Iran allied group. It [24:04] is the last major urban stronghold of [24:06] anti-Houthi forces in the southern [24:08] highland area of Yemen, the rugged hills [24:12] above both Aden, where the [24:14] internationally recognized government is [24:16] based and the flat coastal plane around [24:18] the Babom Strait. In other words, this [24:21] whole area down here, this whole [24:23] southern area is all flat is all [24:26] lowlands. And if they control the high [24:28] ground in Tais, that will give them [24:30] strategic control of much of the area [24:33] down below. [24:35] Okay. [24:38] A Houthi takeover of Tais would make it [24:40] much harder for government forces to [24:42] maintain their counterattack around [24:43] Babel Mandeb and keep the Houthis at arm [24:46] arms length from Aden. It would also [24:48] mean a resounding symbolic defeat for [24:50] the government and the military [24:51] coalition of Saudi backed Yemeni forces. [24:54] For years, the city has sat at the tip [24:56] of government of a government salient [24:59] stretching north into Houthi territory. [25:02] Uh [25:05] sections of the road are now under [25:06] Houthi control, including the towns of [25:09] Al Turba and Mudriyat al- Misra, leaving [25:13] Tais encircled since early October, with [25:16] the Houthis sometimes shelling [25:17] government positions in and around the [25:19] city. Government forces backed by air [25:21] strikes from the Saudi led coalition are [25:23] trying to drive the Houthis back from [25:25] the recent gains and reopen the road, [25:27] but we're still losing ground around [25:29] Tais rather than recapturing territory [25:32] in mid in mid October. That's now. So [25:35] here we are in mid-occtober and this is [25:37] what is happening. The this area Taiz is [25:41] now pretty much surrounded by the [25:43] Houthis. They're shelling they're [25:45] controlling the road. They're shelling [25:46] Aden, the supply chain down below, the [25:48] supply lines from Aden. They're uh [25:51] they're shelling that. They're [25:53] controlling the roads. And if they take [25:56] Thai, they have all of the high ground. [25:58] It will be it will be near impossible [26:01] for the government forces to push back. [26:03] And with all of this official push back, [26:06] officially the government forces are [26:07] fighting back, and they keep claiming [26:09] that they're little victories, but [26:10] they're not really getting anywhere. the [26:12] Houthis are are getting uh are getting [26:14] stronger. And uh it's it's not a great [26:17] situation down there. And uh look, [26:22] this all goes back to the Saudis making [26:24] mistakes. We talk about this all the [26:25] time. The Saudis always mess up. And [26:29] you know, by the Saudis pushing out the [26:31] UAE and its militias a year ago, they [26:36] they got rid of the most effective [26:39] fighting force that was deterring the [26:41] Houthis from doing stuff like this. So, [26:44] the Houthis have multiple agendas here. [26:46] They're helping out the Iranians, their [26:48] patron, [26:49] by causing a spike in oil prices, by [26:52] harming uh the interests of of a key [26:55] American ally in the region, Saudi [26:56] Arabia. They're helping out Iran, but at [26:59] the same time, they're helping [27:00] themselves. What do they want? They want [27:02] more control in Yemen. They want more [27:04] control. They want control of the Baba [27:05] Mandab Strait. And the Chinese are [27:07] probably more than happy to help the [27:08] Houthis do that because if the Houthis [27:10] control Baba Mandab, they'll they'll [27:12] make a deal with the Houthis. And the [27:13] Houthis are part of the Iran coalition [27:15] and uh and you know and that's a [27:19] coalition that is anti-American which [27:20] suits the Chinese just fine. So they're [27:22] involved there too. Anyway, that's our [27:24] update about what's going on in Yemen. [27:26] I'm going to have more updates on more [27:28] of the different flash points in the [27:29] region in the coming days. And of [27:31] course, we have the big election coming [27:33] up in Israel next week. And I'm going to [27:36] be making a number of videos this week [27:37] about the different parties and what the [27:39] issues are right now and how the [27:41] election looks. So, we got a very busy [27:42] week ahead of us. Thanks for watching. [27:44] Please like, share, subscribe, all that [27:46] stuff. And God bless.
