News - Middle East: A Yemeni military analyst has accused Saudi Arabia of deepening its alignment with US and Zionist objectives by militarizing the Red Sea under the pretext of “maritime security.”

Mohammed Huzaymah, a researcher in strategic military affairs, told Al-Masirah TV on Thursday that the naval conference hosted by Riyadh in partnership with Britain marks “a new step in the militarization of the Red Sea to serve the Israeli enemy.” He said the move exposes Saudi Arabia’s confusion and total subordination to Washington’s regional agenda.

The conference, which announced the launch of a “Maritime Security Partnership” with the participation of more than 35 states, came shortly after the Doha summit’s anti-Israel statements and just ahead of a planned Saudi-Pakistani defense pact. Huzaymah said the timing underscores “the duplicity of Saudi policy—speaking against the Israeli enemy in rhetoric while advancing its projects through land and sea.”

According to the expert, the partnership—funded with tens of millions of dollars over a decade to train and equip pro-coalition coast guard forces—primarily seeks to break Yemen’s naval blockade on the Israeli enemy and secure its trade routes and arms shipments through the Red Sea.

He added that Riyadh’s parallel meetings with US Central Command chief Gen. Brad Cooper, who has overseen operations against Yemen, highlight the direct coordination with Washington to secure Zionist interests.

Huzaymah further warned that Saudi Arabia has become “a tool in the US-Israeli project,” pointing to normalization efforts, militarization of the Red Sea, and joint energy ventures such as a planned oil pipeline linking Saudi territory to the occupied port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) and on to Ashkelon.

“These efforts,” he said, “are part of a US strategy to recycle failed colonial projects, relying on weak Arab regimes without independent decision-making or strategic vision.”

The expert stressed that Yemen has already reversed the equation militarily and politically, imposing an effective blockade on the Israeli enemy in the Red Sea, a development that has placed Washington and its allies in an unprecedented strategic dilemma.

Despite extensive media and diplomatic campaigns, Huzaymah argued that the Saudi-British-American initiative lacks the strategic ingredients for success. He concluded that the balance of power shaped by Yemeni resistance, alongside steadfastness in Gaza and Lebanon, ensures that attempts to secure the Israeli enemy or reshape the region “are doomed to fail.”

The Red Sea has become a critical flashpoint since the escalation of the Gaza war in late 2023. Yemeni forces have repeatedly targeted Israeli-linked shipping and ports, framing their actions as a means of pressuring the entity to end its assault on Gaza. In response, the US and UK have bolstered naval deployments and pushed for multinational frameworks to secure maritime routes. Analysts note that Riyadh’s participation in such projects reflects both its strategic vulnerability and its growing entanglement in US-Israeli agendas, despite domestic and regional sensitivities.