AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): With the expansion of the "blockade in exchange for blockade" policy and the pressures it has created on the movement of ports and related economic sectors, field developments have become part of a broader equation in which military, economic, and strategic dimensions are intertwined; especially with the continued targeting of Saudi ports and facilities and its consequences for trade and energy.
In this equation, the Bab al-Mandab Strait holds central importance due to its strategic position and its impact on shipping lines and supply chains.
Developments on the western coast and in Taiz province have also added other dimensions to this confrontation.
Fahmi al-Yousufi, a writer and political analyst, in an interview with Al-Masirah network, said, "The blockade that Sana'a has imposed on Saudi ports is within the framework of responding to the blockade of Yemen and sending this message to the regimes that have blockaded the country and seek to partition it; the message is that continuing the blockade of Yemen's ports will result in pressure on Saudi ports."
He added, "The attacks that Yemeni forces carry out against Saudi Arabia aim to paralyze the movement of Saudi ports, similar to the blockade that Sana'a has imposed on the ports of the Zionist regime."
Al-Yousufi explained, "Continuing the blockade of Saudi ports raises the level of economic paralysis, and its impact extends to the political and military arenas, and attacks on military camps inside Saudi Arabia also increase pressure on these ports."
He emphasized, "The goal of this operation is to force Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade on Yemen's ports, stop aggression against waters under Yemen's sovereignty, and end Saudi excesses in Yemeni territory."
He referred to the existence of oil plans and the plundering of oil from Yemeni territory through parties affiliated with Saudi Arabia in the southern provinces and other areas.
Bab al-Mandab; Sana'a's Economic and Strategic Trump Card
Al-Yousufi considered Bab al-Mandab one of Sana'a's economic and strategic cards for pressuring rivals and accused Saudi Arabia of seeking to dominate this strait and employing mercenaries and spending money to secure the imperialist interests and excesses of the two Israeli and American enemies in the Red Sea and Arab waters.
He believes Sana'a has succeeded in imposing a blockade on Saudi ports through military attacks, and these attacks are a response to Saudi crimes against Yemen's ports and seeking justice for the victims working in them.
Al-Yousufi considered these attacks to carry a deterrence message to prevent the renewed targeting of Yemen's ports and said Riyadh no longer has the ability to protect its ports.
He added, "The continuation of the steadfastness of Yemeni forces and the increase in the level of blockade on Saudi ports will confront Riyadh with increasing pressures and force it to return to Sana'a and accept Yemeni demands."
Al-Yousufi, at the field level on the western coast, described the liberation of large parts of Taiz province as a strategic achievement and said this victory thwarted a plan aimed at connecting the city of Dhubab to Djibouti to serve the interests of the Zionist regime and dominate the strait.
He linked control over the maritime straits to the strategy of the "new Middle East," the "deal of the century," and "Greater Israel" and said forcing Saudi Arabia and domestic parties to dominate Bab al-Mandab serves the realization of this plan.
Al-Yousufi emphasized, "Sana'a's advance in this regard thwarts an important part of that plan."
According to him, securing Bab al-Mandab requires control over the rest of the districts of Taiz province, continuing to cut the Hajjah al-Abd road against mercenary forces, and controlling the city of Al-Turbah.
He predicted that control over these areas would lead to the gradual fall of the rest of the districts and secure Bab al-Mandab.
Targeting Sana'a Airport Was a Fatal Strategic Mistake
Brigadier Nidal Zuhwi, the director of the Center for Anthro-Strategic Studies, also praised the achievements of Yemen's armed forces and Ansarullah at the tactical, regional, and strategic levels since the beginning of developments and said Saudi Arabia's targeting of Sana'a Airport was a "fatal strategic mistake."
Zuhwi considered this issue to be caused by the existing conditions in the region, the conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the lack of readiness of any country to support Saudi Arabia, and America's desire to maintain the state of conflict without the ability to enter it.
He considered Yemen's control over Bab al-Mandab a factor that gives Yemen's armed forces offensive depth and said Yemen's influence existed even before this stage through Al-Hudaydah, but it has become deeper in the current stage.
Zuhwi said, "Yemen today has nothing to lose in this battle, while Saudi Arabia loses everything."
He noted that Riyadh possesses great capabilities at the commercial and international strategic level, especially in the oil and oil trade sector.
He added, "The international need for oil and fossil fuels remains high, and therefore stopping or reducing oil exports is a strategic issue, and Yemen's armed forces have a precise and important impact in this regard."
Zuhwi considered Saudi ports one of the indicators of the success of the "blockade in exchange for blockade" and said the reduction in the movement of exports and imports through the ports of Jeddah, Yanbu, and other ports is a sign of the success of Yemen's military operations.
Zuhwi warned that Saudi Arabia still bets on a set of equations to change the reality inside Yemen, foremost among them the attempt to partition Yemen and return it to its pre-unity state.
According to him, this action strikes at Yemen's importance and its geographical position in global geopolitics, especially in connection with supply chains.
He added, "The other equation is the continuation of tactical operations inside Yemeni territory through forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia and others."
Zuhwi believes that strengthening Yemen's military successes depends on the movement of Yemen's armed forces and Ansarullah toward Marib, the Marib Dam, and Shabwah and cutting the supply chains of forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia through Al-Wadi'ah and Al-Abr.
He concluded, "Control over Al-Abr closes the outlets of Saudi military power, and this makes negotiations with Saudi Arabia 'more successful, more capable, and more effective.'"
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