2026-09-19T04:00:29.148Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/frustration-houthis-saudi-arabia-iran
近期，受伊朗支持的胡塞武装取得显著进展，包括夺取红海一座具有战略意义的岛屿，这给因美伊战争而动荡不安的地区再度造成打击，并加剧了本已严峻的全球能源危机。多名消息人士告诉CNN，美国及其关键盟友沙特阿拉伯均缺乏击退该组织的明确计划，导致该地区许多人质疑反击将从何而来。
尽管美国官员承认，这支也门反政府武装的推进目标是最终控制具有重要战略意义的曼德海峡，但特朗普政府暗示，其无意动用美军阻止他们，转而指望沙特阿拉伯采取行动。
但即便获得美国额外的情报和目标支援，沙特阿拉伯仍未能有效阻止胡塞武装夺取也门沿岸关键城镇，这令海湾国家和美国官员感到沮丧。与CNN交谈的消息人士对沙特能否独自击退胡塞武装表示怀疑。
该地区消息人士及前外交官均表示，胡塞武装的行动并不出人意料，他们指出沙特支持的也门军队弱点早已是人尽皆知。美国官员称，数月来美国情报报告均显示，该组织会效仿伊朗今年早些时候的做法，试图关闭另一处关键商业航运水道。
尽管如此，一名美国官员告诉CNN，美国目前认为自己已向沙特提供了其对抗胡塞武装所需的一切支持，具体包括近期增加了与沙特王国共享情报和目标数据的支援。另有两名消息人士称，在训练也门政府军近十年后，沙特曾向美国官员保证，他们对自身能力充满信心。
十多年前，在也门惨烈内战期间，沙特支持的也门政府军开始与受伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）支持和训练的胡塞武装作战。2022年联合国促成的停火协议曾为双方带来一段相对较低烈度的敌对时期。
然而，战斗在最近几周重新爆发并愈演愈烈。沙特指控胡塞武装袭击了伊斯兰圣城麦加，胡塞武装则称击落了一架沙特F-15战斗机。
唐纳德·特朗普总统明确表示，他当前的红线是美国直接参与针对胡塞武装的动能打击。迄今为止，美国的军事支援仅限于为沙特的空袭提供情报和目标数据。
“不发动进攻性打击。”一名美国官员说道。
“胡塞武装联系我们，他们不想和我们打仗”
多名海湾国家和美国消息人士称，特朗普传递出的信息向伊朗表明，他不愿为该地区的美国盟友提供支持。
“胡塞武装联系我们，他们不想和我们打仗，”特朗普上周在爱尔兰对记者发表讲话时称，“他们不想让我们攻击他们，非常乐意我们不介入，他们还允许大部分船只通行。”
“他们只是对一个国家不太满意，”特朗普在提及沙特阿拉伯时说道，“我们会解决这个问题。”
曾在中东地区工作多年的美国前外交官芭芭拉·利夫称，特朗普本人关于胡塞武装的言论“令人震惊”。
“将与亲密盟友的关系处理得如此糟糕，似乎更看重与一个被你列为外国恐怖组织、且袭击了该盟友的组织达成协议，这相当冷酷无情，”她告诉CNN。美国政府于2025年3月将胡塞武装列为外国恐怖组织。
沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼上周与特朗普进行了两次通话，请求美国对胡塞武装发动空袭。但这一请求迄今遭到拒绝，消息人士称，目前难以判断政府政策是否会发生转变。
在对胡塞武装推进感到沮丧之际，许多海湾消息人士认为，此次攻势代表着伊朗战争的新战线，可能会延长冲突。尽管存在一些将问题分开处理的尝试，但消息人士越来越认为，不解决胡塞武装问题，就不太可能在伊朗问题上取得进展。
“胡塞武装在红海的推进助长了伊斯兰革命卫队的气焰。沙特必须解决这个问题，否则他们就是在枪口下谈判，而他们不会这么做，”曾长期在中东工作的美国前大使乔伊·胡德说道。
与其他消息人士一样，胡德指出，尽管胡塞武装声称其战斗仅针对沙特，但显然与伊朗存在关联。
“伊朗如今正处于生死存亡的战斗中，正调动所有代理人参战。胡塞武装并非完全受伊朗遥控，但他们需要伊朗提供燃料。因此，胡塞武装关于此次攻势起因的说法并不能完全反映现实，”胡德说道。
也门局势令其他谈判复杂化，包括围绕霍尔木兹海峡的谈判。
原定于美国与伊朗开战以来海湾合作委员会（GCC）国家与伊朗的首次会议于本周早些时候取消。沙特阿拉伯因担心阿曼与伊朗可能达成的开放霍尔木兹海峡的协议措辞而决定不出席，其他海湾国家纷纷效仿。地区消息人士称，这清楚表明，在胡塞武装发动袭击之际，沙特认为与伊朗接触毫无益处。
“由于胡塞武装的袭击和曼德海峡附近的局势，这影响了霍尔木兹海峡协议的谈判，”一名地区消息人士告诉CNN，“沙特要求采取要么全有要么全无的做法，这可以理解，但这拖延了进程。”
近十年来，沙特一直在训练也门军队，但迄今为止，这些部队未能有效击退胡塞武装。在美国情报和精确打击支援下的沙特空袭，阻止了该民兵组织对其占领的部分领土实施稳固控制，但胡塞武装的推进并未被完全击退。
消息人士称，过去十年里，美国高层基本忽视了胡塞武装的威胁，尽管低级别的美国官员和地区行为体曾敦促对这支日益壮大的反政府武装给予更多关注。去年美国针对胡塞武装的军事行动也暴露了美国火力的局限性——数月的轰炸未能有效清除该组织在也门的据点，最终以美胡双方突然停火告终。
一名美国官员称，美国本周末在阿曼举行的会晤中“巩固了与胡塞武装的停火协议”——这一信息凸显了美国政府不愿卷入冲突的态度。
“美国人传递了一个信息，”一名知情的胡塞武装高级官员周四告诉CNN，“他们不想加入沙特一方，参与这场冲突。”
“我们积极回应了这一信息，”该消息人士补充道。
一些现任和前任美国官员认为，外界曾预期沙特自身的火力加上其对也门军队的投资，能够抵消胡塞武装的攻势。但这种预期并未实现。
其他人则表示，胡塞武装的成功并不意外，尤其是考虑到该民兵组织的团结以及伊朗的支持。
“胡塞武装的优势在于与（伊斯兰革命卫队）建立了深厚且富有成效的关系，后者训练了他们，将他们从12年前那种勉强糊口的洞穴战斗人员，提升为一支真正具备相当破坏力的武装力量，”曾任美国国务院近东事务助理国务卿的利夫说道。
“胡塞武装在过去几个月里花了大量时间为这类行动训练部队，”她继续说道，“他们突破了沙特和也门政府军的防线，这并不意外，他们直接突破了防线——这些军队彻底溃散了。”
“没人想单打独斗，”一名现任海湾国家官员说道，“要么沙特参战，要么他们与胡塞武装达成协议。”
但随着沙特支持的政府显然需要更多资源来对抗胡塞武装，沙特王国也因应对持续战争带来的一系列挑战而兵力分散：近期对其东西输油管道的袭击、与美军合作确保海峡内油轮通航、以及维持一条用于在该地区运输关键资源的陆上通道。
沙特阿拉伯近日还暂停了9月份对欧洲的石油出口，这让外界意识到全球能源危机可能进一步加剧。
消息人士称，沙特支持的部队要在也门有效反击，可能需要沙特或其他国家增派地面部队，以及美国展现承诺。但这两项举措似乎都不太可能。
“至少美国介入的可能性需要作为威慑悬在所有人头上，如果你毫无必要地消除这种可能性，会打击士气，尤其是对当地的也门士兵，”另一名地区消息人士说道。
利夫称，她并未听到该地区官员对沙特感到恼火，而是听到了“美国到底打算在这里做什么？”的质疑。
海湾国家和美国消息人士也对胡塞武装的升级能否通过军事手段完全解决表示怀疑。
“他们已经尝试了多年”来击败胡塞武装，这名地区消息人士说道，并指出军事行动“确实会削弱他们，但无法彻底消灭他们。”
CNN的纳丁·易卜拉欣参与了报道。
Frustration grows as Houthis widen Middle East conflict with US unwilling to intervene
2026-09-19T04:00:29.148Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/frustration-houthis-saudi-arabia-iran
Dramatic recent advances by the Iran-backed Houthis, including the seizure of a strategically important island in the Red Sea, have dealt another blow to a region reeling from the US war with Iran and exacerbated an already severe global energy crisis. But neither the US nor its key ally Saudi Arabia has a clear plan to beat back the group, multiple sources told CNN, leading many in the region to ask where the counteroffensive will come from.
Although US officials acknowledge the Yemeni rebel group is advancing with the goal of ultimately asserting control over the critical Bab al Mandeb Strait, the Trump administration is signaling it has little interest in using the American military to stop them – relying instead on Saudi Arabia to do so.
But even with additional US intelligence and targeting support, Saudi Arabia has not been able to effectively stop the Houthis from taking key coastal towns in Yemen, frustrating Gulf and American officials. Sources who spoke with CNN expressed doubt that the Saudis would be able to stop the Houthis on their own.
The Houthis moves have not come as a surprise to sources in the region, as well as former diplomats, who said the weaknesses of the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces were well-known. For months US intelligence reports indicated the group would attempt to close another key waterway for commercial shipping as Iran did earlier this year, US officials said.
Still, the US believes it is currently providing Saudi Arabia with everything it needs to be successful against the Houthis, one American official told CNN, referring to the recent increase in sharing intelligence support and sharing of targeting data support with the Kingdom. And after about a decade of training the Yemen government’s military, the Kingdom had assured US officials that they were confident in their ability, two sources told CNN.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces started fighting the Houthis, who are supported and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), more than a decade ago during Yemen’s brutal civil war. A 2022 UN-brokered truce had brought a period of relatively low levels of hostilities between the two sides.
However, the fighting has resumed and intensified in recent weeks. The Saudis accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, and the Houthis claim to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet.
President Donald Trump has made clear that his current red line is direct US participation in kinetic strikes against the Houthis. To date, US military support has been strictly providing intel and targeting data for Saudi strikes.
“No offensive strikes,” said a US official.
‘The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight’
Multiple Gulf and US sources say messaging from Trump signals to the Iranians he is unwilling to back US allies in the region.
“The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump said in remarks to reporters in Ireland last weekend. “They don’t want us to go after them and would much prefer not having us involved and they’re letting most ships go through.”
“It’s just one country they’re not too happy with,” Trump said, referring to Saudi Arabia, “and we’ll get that straightened out.”
Barbara Leaf, a former US diplomat who worked throughout the Middle East called Trump’s own comments about the Houthis “shocking.”
“It’s a pretty harsh way to treat your relationship with a close partner, to appear to privilege your agreement with a group you’ve designated as an (foreign terrorist organization) that attacked that partner,” she told CNN. The administration designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in March 2025.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke twice with Trump last week to ask for US strikes against the Houthis. That request, so far, has been rebuffed and sources said it is hard to tell if the administration policy will shift.
Amid this frustration over the Houthis advances, many Gulf sources believe the offensive represents a new front in the Iran war that could prolong the conflict. Despite some efforts to deal with the issues separately, sources increasingly believe there is unlikely to be progress on Iran without dealing with the Houthis.
“The Houthis’ Red Sea push is emboldening the IRGC. The Saudis have to get this fixed, otherwise they are negotiating with a gun on the table and they won’t do that,” said Joey Hood, a former US ambassador who spent much of his career working in the Middle East.
Hood, like other sources, noted that although the Houthis claim their fight is just with Saudis, there is a clear nexus to Iran.
“Iran is in an existential battle now and pulling on all of their proxies to fight. The Houthis are not remote-controlled by Iran but they need fuel from them. So, the Houthi statements of why they are carrying out this offensive now are not a complete reflection of reality,” said Hood.
The situation in Yemen has complicated the other negotiations, including those over the Strait of Hormuz.
A first meeting between Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Iran since the US-Iran war began was canceled earlier this week. Saudi Arabia decided not to attend amid concerns around the language of a potential agreement between Oman and Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and other Gulf countries followed suit. Regional sources said it was a clear signal that the Kingdom sees no upside to engaging with the Iranians amid active Houthi attacks.
“Due to the Houthi attacks and the situation near the Bab-el-Mandeb corridor, it’s affecting the Strait of Hormuz deal,” a regional source told CNN. “The Saudis are demanding an all-or-nothing approach, which is understandable, but it delays the process.”
For about a decade, the Saudis have been training Yemen’s military, and so far, those forces have been unable to effectively push back the Houthis. Saudi strikes, backed by US intelligence and precision targeting, have prevented the militia from exercising a firm command over some of the territory they have taken, but advances have not been wholly rebuffed.
The highest levels of the US government largely ignored the Houthi threat over the last decade despite lower-level US officials and regional players urging closer attention to the rebel group as it grew stronger, sources said. Last year’s US military campaign against the Houthis also laid bare the limits of American firepower – as months of bombing failed to effectively dislodge the group’s foothold inside Yemen and ended with an abrupt US-Houthi ceasefire.
The US “solidified the ceasefire” with the Houthis during a meeting in Oman this weekend, the US official said – a message that underscores the administration’s unwillingness to get involved.
“The Americans sent a message,” a senior Houthi official familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday, “that they don’t want to join the Saudis and be part of the conflict.”
“We received this message positively,” the source added.
There was a perception that Saudi Arabia’s own firepower coupled with its investment in Yemen’s military could counterbalance the Houthis’ offenses, some current and former US officials say. That expectation has not panned out.
Others say the Houthi successes are hardly surprising, especially given unity of the militia and Iran’s support.
“The Houthis have the advantage of having this really deep and productive relationship with the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) which has trained them and taken them up several notches from the hard-scrabble kind of cave fighters that they were 12 years ago to a force that can really be quite devastating,” said Leaf, who was a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
“The Houthi have spent a lot of time in the last months preparing their forces for just this kind of move,” she continued. “They punched through the Saudi-aligned and Yemeni government-aligned forces, not surprisingly, just punched through them – the forces just disintegrated.”
“No one wants to fight alone,” said a current Gulf official. “Either the Saudis fight or they cut a deal with the Houthis.”
But as it becomes clear that the Saudi-backed government will need more resources to take on the Houthis, the kingdom is also spread thin as they manage a wide array of challenges resulting from the ongoing war: a recent strike on their East-West pipeline, working with the US military on enabling tanker traffic through the strait, and keeping open a land-bridge to move critical resources through the region.
Saudi Arabia also cut oil exports to Europe for the month of September in recent days, triggering a recognition that the global energy crisis could deepen.
An effective pushback at the hands of Saudi-backed forces in Yemen is likely to require additional boots on the ground from Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, and a projection of commitment from the US, sources said. But neither of those inputs seem likely.
“At least the possibility of US involvement needs to hang over everyone to act as a deterrent, if you just unnecessarily wipe that away its demoralizing particularly to the Yemenis on the ground,” another regional source said.
Leaf said she has not heard exasperation with the Saudis from officials in the region, but rather questions of “What the hell is the US going to do here?”
Gulf and US sources have also expressed doubts about whether the Houthi escalation can actually be entirely resolved militarily.
“They have been trying for years” to defeat the Houthis, the regional source said, noting that military action “will weaken them, yes, but will not end them.”
CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting.