Future of western security is at stake in Yemen civil war, says country’s former PM

Yemen's former PM warns of catastrophic consequences if Houthi rebels seize control of Taiz.

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Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, Yemen's former prime minister, has warned that the future of western security is at stake in the ongoing civil war in Yemen. Saeed, who is now an adviser to Yemen's president, made the comments in an interview with The Guardian.

Saeed stated that the Iran-backed Houthi rebels' use of drones represents a 'new era of radical terrorism' and that it would be catastrophic if the city of Taiz fell to the Houthis. Control of the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait in the Red Sea and the road to Aden, the site of the UN-recognised government, would be lost if the Houthis were to seize control of Taiz.

Saeed appealed for more western help, stating that he had no doubt that the Houthis intended to seize control of all of Yemen. He claimed that the Houthis' goal was 'to help Iran to expand the chaos'. Saeed also acknowledged that the lack of coordination among government-backed troops, competition between Gulf states, and a slowness to appreciate the implications of Yemen acquiring long-range drone technology had contributed to the pressure facing his government and its chief backer, Saudi Arabia.

Saeed called on the west to think through the implications of allowing the Houthis to take control of Yemen, arguing that the country would never be secure with Houthis on the land. He stated that the battle around Taiz is not just a battle for Taiz, but a broader battle that involves the whole of the western world, and one of the most important maritime straits.

The Houthis know controlling Taiz is controlling the straits and it's the highlands before the straits and the coastal city of Mocha and the Gulf of Aden. If Taiz is lost, access to the strait will be lost. The rest of the country will come later. The Houthi plan is to control the whole of Yemen.

Taiz has become the new frontline in the war between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces after the Houthis launched a military campaign last month to take Yemen's Red Sea coast, ending four years of relative calm in Yemen after a UN-brokered ceasefire froze the frontlines in 2022.