The Iran-backed Houthis have intensified their advance in Yemen, including the seizure of a strategically important Red Sea island and the capture of key coastal towns, amid the US war with Iran and a worsening global energy crisis. US officials acknowledge that the group ultimately seeks control of the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a vital commercial shipping route, but President Donald Trump has ruled out direct US kinetic strikes and is relying on Saudi Arabia to respond. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, despite about a decade of training and increased US intelligence and targeting support, have failed to halt the Houthi gains. The Houthis are supported and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and their offensive has increasingly been viewed in the Gulf as a new front in the Iran war. The escalation has also complicated negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to the cancellation of a first meeting between Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Iran since the US-Iran war began. Sources doubt that Saudi Arabia can defeat the Houthis alone and say an effective military response would require additional forces and a clearer US commitment, neither of which appears likely. Military action could weaken the group but may not eliminate it, regional sources said.