Ryan Grim interviews Yemeni journalist Hussain Al-Bukhaiti on the state of the conflict in Yemen. Al-Bukhaiti told Drop Site that Saudi-backed forces in eastern areas of Al-Jawf are essentially driving around empty desert for the cameras and presenting it as an advance.
“They just go to an open area and keep shooting at a hill or a small mountain, and there’s no one there,” he said, adding that the forces are also “sitting ducks” for Ansarallah fighters who hold all the key high ground in the west of the province.
Albukhaiti also predicted that oil- and gas-rich Marib province will fall “exactly like Mocha,” saying it “could be easier” because Ansarallah has already sharply limited Saudi air cover.
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00:00–01:01 — Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah Escalate
01:02–03:09 — Advice for MBS & Why Saudi Arabia Broke the 2022 Truce
03:10–05:52 — Ansarallah’s New Demands for Riyadh
05:53–09:22 — What’s Happening in Al-Jawf
09:23–16:10 — Why Saudi-Backed Forces Collapsed on Yemen’s West Coast
16:11–20:41 — Why Ansarallah Went on the Offensive
20:42–26:00 — The Battle for Marib and Ansarallah’s Strategy
26:01–34:39 — Could Saudi Arabia Lose Territory?
34:40–35:52 — Iran, the U.S. and Ansarallah’s Regional Strategy
35:53–38:19 — Red Sea Shipping and Bab al-Mandab
