4 hours ago

Iran Update, October 10, 2026

William Doran, Parker Hempel, Katherine Wells and Kelly Campa

Data Cutoff: 2:00 PM ET

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute are publishing updates Monday through Friday to provide analysis on the war with Iran and the broader Middle East. Weekday updates cover events from the past 24-hour period, whereas weekend updates are abbreviated and cover the Houthi-Saudi conflict and major breaking developments related to the war with Iran.

Key Takeaways:

US President Donald Trump told reporters on October 10 that he is considering whether the United States will conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis in response to recent Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other civilian infrastructure.
The Houthis are attacking several Yemeni government positions south and west of Taiz City in an effort to fully encircle and capture the city, while Yemeni government-aligned forces continue to stall the Houthi advances.

Toplines

US President Donald Trump told reporters on October 10 that he is considering whether the United States will conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis in response to recent Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other civilian infrastructure.[i] The Houthis almost certainly conducted a missile attack on October 10 targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which the group has attacked several times in recent days.[ii] A regional official told the Associated Press on October 10 that a missile struck a terminal complex at the airport and wounded many people.[iii] The Houthis have expanded the scale of ballistic missile, cruise missile, and drone attacks targeting Saudi civilian airports since Yemeni government-aligned forces launched a counteroffensive to retake territory on the Red Sea coastal plain on October 4.[iv] The Houthis' frequent attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure, particularly airports, are currently motivating Saudi efforts to degrade Houthi ballistic missile capabilities and other long-range strike platforms.

Potential US involvement in the Saudi-Yemeni government air campaign to degrade Houthi ballistic missile capabilities would mark the first direct US military action against the group since the conclusion of Operation Rough Rider in May 2025.[v] US strikes during Operation Rough Rider degraded Houthi missile and other strike capabilities that the group used to attack civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al Mandeb Strait.[vi] The United States and other partner forces have expanded military assistance, including intelligence, targeting, and air defense support, to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.[vii] These forms of military assistance support Saudi efforts to inhibit Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia by exposing Houthi strike capabilities to Saudi air assets and protecting civilian infrastructure from Houthi missiles and drones.

The Houthis are attacking several Yemeni government positions south and west of Taiz City in an effort to fully encircle and capture the city, while Yemeni government-aligned forces continue to stall the Houthi advances. Yemeni military sources told joint UK-Emirati media on October 10 that Yemeni government-aligned forces repelled an attempted Houthi advance in the vicinity of Wadi al Dhabab, which is a valley located on the southwestern outskirts of Taiz City.[viii] The sources also reported that Houthi fighters have engaged Yemeni government-aligned forces in heavy combat in the vicinities of Jabal Sabr and Najd Qasim, which are both located less than 10 kilometers south of Taiz City.[ix] Yemeni media also reported on October 10 that Yemeni government-aligned forces repelled an attempted Houthi advance in the vicinity of al Shaqab, which is located about 12 kilometers south of Taiz City.[x] The Houthis claimed on October 10 that the group is securing control over central Taiz Governorate's Mawasit, Sama, and al Salu districts.[xi] CTP-ISW has not observed verifiable reports that corroborate the Houthis’ claim at the time of this writing. The Houthis' attempted advances on several fronts south and west of Taiz City indicate that the group is preparing to fully encircle and attempt to capture the city, which is Yemen's third largest city.[xii]

These attempted Houthi advances come amid Houthi efforts to consolidate and secure ground lines of communication (GLOC) leading into Taiz City from peripheral areas of Taiz Governorate. Houthi Taiz "Governor" Ahmed al Masawi announced on October 9 that the group has reopened several roadways in Taiz Governorate for civilian use, including the Mokha-Najd al Nashamah roadway and other roads in central and southern Taiz Governorate.[xiii] This official announcement indicates that the Houthis assess that they have secured sufficient control over the roadways and surrounding terrain to permit relatively normal civilian and economic activity to resume. Masawi also characterized the Houthis’ decision to reopen roads to Taiz City as a humanitarian issue and urged civilians in government-held areas to reopen remaining roads and permit the flow of civilian necessities into Taiz City.[xiv] Masawi’s comments are likely intended to weaken Yemeni government-aligned forces’ and anti-Houthi civilians’ will to resist Houthi control over Taiz City, particularly as the group’s encirclement of central Taiz Governorate is exacerbating critical supply shortages in government-held areas.[xv]

Houthi control of terrain surrounding key GLOCs leading to Taiz City does not insulate the group's logistics from Saudi and Yemeni government attacks, however. Saudi and Yemeni government drones and warplanes have targeted Houthi reinforcements, weapons depots, and logistical centers behind Houthi lines in Taiz Governorate in recent weeks in order to deprive Houthi frontline forces of necessary sustainment.[xvi] The high volume of recent Saudi and Yemeni government airstrikes and drone strikes on Houthi targets attests to these forces' air superiority throughout Yemen, which the Houthis have largely failed to disrupt.[xvii]

The Saudi-Yemeni government air campaign also intends to degrade the Houthis' long-range strike capabilities and support Yemeni government-aligned forces on frontlines across Yemen. Saudi Joint Forces Command (JFC) spokesperson Major General Turki al Maliki announced on October 9 that Saudi forces have recently destroyed 136 Houthi military targets in Yemen and that JFC intends to destroy the Houthis' ballistic missile capabilities.[xviii] Saudi forces have conducted numerous airstrikes targeting Houthi ballistic missile launchers and missile storage sites, which are critical to the group's ability to target Saudi civilian infrastructure and Yemeni government-aligned forces' staging areas, across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in recent days.[xix] Maliki added that the JFC is providing 24-hour close air support coverage to Yemeni government-aligned forces.[xx]

US and Partner Military Operations