Houthis demand tens of bns and Saudi recognition to end the war, WSJ reports

The Houthis are saying the end of the war with Saudi Arabia would cost the Kingdom around USD 51 bn plus formal recognition of the group as Yemen’s rulers, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people briefed on the talks. The figure, which was relayed to Riyadh when it reached out to test what a negotiated halt would take, is the Houthis’ estimation of the economic toll of years of Saudi strikes and a long blockade. Other numbers have come up since, the sources said, but all are in the tens of bns.

The Kingdom denies the report: Saudi Public Diplomacy Deputy Minister Rayed Krimly said in a statement that no such demand was made, adding that the Houthis are a militia that revolted against the Yemeni government and deepened the country’s suffering.

Riyadh’s room for maneuver is tight… Saudi officials told the Journal that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reluctant to negotiate in full without battlefield gains to use as leverage, and wary that sending more troops into Yemen could prove bloody and fuel domestic criticism.

… and every option is costly. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of Rice University’s Baker Institute said the risk imbalance runs further against Riyadh now than it did in 2015-2022, as strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure dent investor confidence, and the Houthis — “well-entrenched, dug in” — have far less to lose from a war of attrition. The money may be the least of it, said Maged Al Madhaji of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies; the bigger risk is a precedent that lets the group escalate whenever it wants more concessions or money.

In the meantime, the fighting has not let up. The Houthis said they hit King Fahd International Airport and six other targets in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes on Taiz’s Al Hadara market and the Bani Hashish district, with the Associated Press also reporting a strike on Al Shariya village. The group’s claimed targets included King Khalid International Airport, oil tanks and an Aramco distillation tower in Riyadh, Aramco facilities in Khurais, Pumping Station 8 in Dawadmi, and troop positions in Najran, Al Jawf, and Marib’s Raghwah and Madghal districts.

Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed missiles aimed at Madinah, Najran, and Riyadh, and drones over the Eastern Region, Makkah, and Riyadh, the Saudi-led coalition said. The Houthis, for their part, said that the Saudi air force launched 105 airstrikes and missile attacks on several areas of Yemen over the past 24 hours, including Sanaa, Al Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah, Saada, Marib, and Lahj. They added that the latest round brings the total number of aerial and missile strikes since the escalation began to nearly 4.4k.

The three-front stretch isn’t helping. Retired US Army Col. David Des Roches, who has trained Saudi air-defense officers, told WSJ that Riyadh is spreading its US-made Patriots and other interceptors across three fronts — Iran to the east, Iraq-based militias to the north, and the Houthis to the south. Saudi airstrikes, however, can only do so much. “What’s really needed is some sort of ground pressure,” he said, which the Saudis cannot supply on their own.

Syria is quietly stepping in: Damascus is sending military advisers to Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. A US official told the newswire that the teams are helping train Saudi and Yemeni units inside the Kingdom to improve their combat effectiveness. The Syrian sources said the mandate could run broader.

Damascus plays it down, though: A senior Syrian diplomat called any suggestion of military deployments “premature,” saying Syria’s focus is on internal security, its borders, and reconstruction. A senior Saudi official told Reuters that the cooperation is mainly about restructuring Syrian forces, but that Syria is also sharing expertise in combating militias. The two countries signed a defense cooperation agreement last week during President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh.

Regional diplomacy is moving in parallel: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke in recent days with counterparts from 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, and called for regional security arrangements “free from the interference of extra-regional powers.” Iraq has separately floated a foreign-ministers’ committee to mediate between Tehran and Washington.