Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government forces have been preparing for a major offensive against Iran-backed Houthis, whose latest advances along Yemen's western coast have tightened their control over coastal areas and disrupted a critical maritime chokepoint known as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Bloomberg now reports that the operation is underway.

The outlet reports that Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, ordered all branches of the armed forces into active combat operations on Sunday.

"All state military, security and civil institutions as of this moment are mobilized and on high alert until the mission is completed and victory is achieved," Al-Alimi said on Sunday.

He said the operation would continue "until the liberation of the country from the grip of the terrorist Houthi militia."

Our reporting on Saturday indicated that more than 100,000 Yemeni pro-government troops were set to mobilize for the offensive. Last month, the ease and speed of Houthi gains proved humiliating for the Saudi coalition in Yemen.

The Houthis largely stayed out of the US-Israeli war against Iran. But by midsummer, the terror group had announced a blockade of Saudi ships in the critical maritime chokepoint in response to what it described as a "siege" of Yemen. It has since repeatedly attacked the kingdom, including its oil facilities.

On Saturday, multiple reports and footage circulating on X showed what appeared to be smoke rising from Saudi Aramco's Riyadh refinery.

Reuters reported Friday that Saudi air power would support Yemeni ground forces. The report did not specify which aircraft had been deployed for the operation, but the Saudis operate US-built F-15s, Eurofighter Typhoons and Tornado strike aircraft.

Beyond the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the latest data from Goldman show that crude oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are back to pre-war levels, an indication that Tehran's leverage in the region has quickly eroded.