Iranian advisers helped Houthis seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast in less than
48 hours, sources tell AP
[September 24, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY
CAIRO (AP) — It took Houthi rebels less than 48 hours to seize Yemen's
Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blow to U.S.
interests and Washington's regional allies.
But the Houthis didn’t do it alone. Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers
were in the field helping direct the battle, people familiar with the
offensive told The Associated Press, marking Iran’s most direct
intervention in favor of its longtime ally since Yemen’s civil war
erupted in 2014.
The intervention shows how Iran has built the Houthis into a major
regional partner able to open a new front in the wider war with the U.S.
The rebels’ biggest land grab in years, along with the closure of a key
Saudi pipeline, strengthened their ability to choke off Saudi Arabia’s
oil exports, pushing up global fuel prices and giving Iran greater
leverage. The United States has seemed reluctant to help its ally Saudi
Arabia, even as the Houthis have gained momentum in Yemen's revived
civil war.
The AP spoke to 10 officials and soldiers to assemble an account of the
Houthi offensive. They included a senior Houthi official, two regional
officials, a top Yemeni military commander and a member of Yemen's
ruling presidential council. They spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss internal decision making.
The Houthis' swift, 115-kilometer (75-mile) assault exploited divisions
among forces allied with Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally
recognized government. The Houthis penetrated the internal
communications of one of the main forces, the National Resistance,
allowing them to track its movements and sow confusion.
As pro-government forces beat a frantic retreat, the leader of the
National Resistance fled to Saudi Arabia. The key port city of Mokha was
abandoned as residents left in the night, allowing the Houthis to roll
in unopposed on Sept. 10. Their seizure of strategic islands nearby
further enhanced their ability to attack Saudi oil shipments in the Red
Sea.
Iran had been building up the Houthis’ capabilities
The Houthis had not conducted a major campaign along the coast since
2017, when government forces drove them out of the area. Since then, the
Houthis had focused on trying to capture the oil-rich province of Marib
in central Yemen.
A truce took hold in 2022. The following year, the Houthis began
attacking Red Sea shipping over the war in Gaza, attacks that continued
until a punishing U.S. bombing campaign in 2025. After the U.S. and
Israel attacked Iran in February, the Houthis largely kept to the
sidelines.
Last year, Iran began providing the Houthis with stepped-up training and
logistical support on more advanced missiles, drones and uncrewed attack
boats, said Mzahem Alsaloum, a security analyst who has followed
Iranian-backed groups for nearly a decade and now runs a private
intelligence firm.
In July, the Houthis renewed their attacks on Saudi Arabia after
accusing it of striking the airport in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
That strike appears to have been aimed at halting a flight from Tehran.
Alsaloum and the senior Houthi official said the Iranian flight, which
later landed, brought Revolutionary Guard advisers, who joined other
advisers from the Guard — and Iran's Lebanese ally, Hezbollah — already
based in Yemen.
Iranian advisers assumed a larger role in the offensive
In early August, the Houthis resumed attacks on government forces,
focusing on the city of Taiz, in the mountains overlooking the coast,
and firing missiles and drones at Mokha.
The Houthi official said Iranian advisers had previously focused on
strategic planning and were not in the field. But in the latest
escalation, they were “present at all levels,” he said, including
planning tactical maneuvers and working with front-line commanders.
The two regional officials, who are regularly briefed on the latest
developments in Yemen, also said Iran provided direct support that
helped the rapid advance.
Alsaloum said that in addition to helping in a command role, the Iranian
advisers analyzed communications and satellite intelligence, capacities
the Houthis were lacking.
Iran's U.N. mission did not respond to requests for comment.
Pro-government forces were divided
The National Resistance, with some 30,000 fighters, was the strongest
pro-government force along the coast. But it had not been involved in
major fighting since 2017.
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Houthi fighters escort a convoy carrying prisoners freed in Mokha
through the Bani Matar district on its way to Sanaa, Yemen,
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, following the Houthi takeover of the
southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
For a month, Houthi forces bombarded its positions with 130
ballistic missiles and 145 suicide drones, according to a National
Resistance spokesman, Maj. Gen. Sadiq Dwaid. He said its fighters
were stretched over 170 kilometers (100 miles), from Mokha into the
mountainous interior, against what he estimated were 75,000 Houthi
fighters.
In early September, the Giants Brigade, another militia, came to its
aid, helping it to temporarily push back the rebels. But the Giants
Brigade had not coordinated with the National Resistance, angering
its field commanders, one government official said.
The two forces had a longtime rivalry rooted in the past struggle
between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over control of
the anti-Houthi movement. That struggle led to the UAE abruptly
pulling out of Yemen in January.
There was no “unified command,” said the senior military official.
“This was a priceless opportunity for the Houthis.”
A swift advance led to a panicked retreat
On Sept. 9, the Houthis advanced south toward Mokha through a narrow
mountain valley, heavily bombarding their opponents.
Having breached their communications, the Houthis were able to
listen in and exploit divisions, one of the government officials
said, adding that National Resistance leaders lost contact with
several field commanders.
By the afternoon, the Houthis had seized the mountain road and a
nearby military base, cutting off government supply lines to Mokha.
Lt. Gen. Tariq Saleh, the leader of the National Resistance, was
forced to flee and then took refuge in Saudi Arabia.
At around 6 p.m. that night, orders went out to National Resistance
field units to retreat back to Mokha. When thousands of fighters
began arriving, the forces stationed in the port city thought a
major Houthi attack was imminent and began to flee, two National
Resistance fighters told the AP.
A Mokha resident, Issa Gubwani, said he saw fighters in military
vehicles and pickups streaming out of the city. “They left us to
face our fate,” he said. Tens of thousands of residents joined the
exodus.
The Houthi official said that when the rebels rolled in early on
Sept. 10, “the city was empty.”
Government forces are trying to regroup
The senior government military official said Yemeni forces were
stunned that Saudi warplanes didn’t strike the Houthis as they
advanced on Mokha. The Saudi government media office did not respond
when asked for comment.
The Houthis seized weapons and military equipment, including armored
vehicles, rockets, artillery shells and ammunition, most of it from
the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two government officials said. The rebels
displayed some of the captured weapons in a televised parade.
The National Resistance said it lost 500 fighters in the battles;
that could not be independently confirmed. The Houthis have not
announced their losses.
As government forces work to regroup, supporters of the various
militias have been trading blame and accusations of treason online.
The Houthis are meanwhile building defenses around the newly
captured territories, according to the Houthi official.
“Losing the West Coast is not the end of the battle; rather, it
marks the beginning of a fiercer battle,” Brig. Gen. Walid Ziyad, a
senior National Resistance commander, declared on social media.
___
Associated Press reporters Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Ahmed al-Haj in
Aden, Yemen, and Lee Keath and Victoria Eastwood in Cairo
contributed to this report.
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