Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Thursday that Saudi Arabia will fail to suppress the Tehran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen as the rebels intensify strikes against the kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia will certainly be unable to contain Yemen and Ansarullah or remain safe from their attacks," IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi declared in an interview with Defa Press, utilizing the group's official name.

"As we have seen in recent days, the more Saudi Arabia attacks, the more it is hit in return."

The escalating conflict transformed Yemen into a new theater in the broader Middle Eastern war following American and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The subsequent Houthi offensive and attempt to blockade Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports were triggered by retaliatory exchanges in early July after an Iranian plane landed in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

This fresh wave of hostilities has shattered a 2022 ceasefire that had temporarily halted fighting between the Houthis and the internationally recognized, Saudi-supported government of Yemen, a nation ravaged by over ten years of civil war.

Separately, a Yemeni minister informed AFP this week that Houthi forces are preparing to capture territory surrounding the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, a move that would significantly expand their leverage over the vital maritime transit corridor.

Confirming the move, three Houthi military sources alongside a spokesperson for Yemeni government forces near the waterway told AFP that the rebel group is planning a southward push from its current strongholds.

Source: AFP