Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi on Sunday announced the launch of military operations to retake all Yemeni territory controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, as government forces engaged in fierce fighting with the group around the strategic city of Taiz.  In a televised address broadcast on state media, Al-Alimi said he had ordered government forces to begin large-scale operations aimed at restoring state control across the country.  He said the actions were “in fulfillment of our constitutional responsibility to safeguard the sovereignty of the republic and its citizens, and pursuant to the decisions of the National Defense Council.”  “I announce today the commencement of military operations to reclaim the remaining territories of the republic and to extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory,” he said.  Al-Alimi said the operations would continue until government authority was restored.  “We have issued directives to the armed forces, security services and all military formations to begin executing their assigned missions in accordance with approved plans, until the country is liberated from the yoke of the terrorist militia.”  He stressed that the campaign was not directed against any particular Yemeni region, sect or tribe, but was intended to end Houthi control and restore state authority.  Al-Alimi urged fighters serving alongside the Houthis to lay down their weapons and take advantage of an amnesty offered to those who defect.  “I reiterate to you that this is not a war against our people in Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Amran, Dhamar, Ibb or any other province, nor is it a war against any sect or tribe,” he said.  “This is the state’s battle for its citizens, to restore its institutions and rectify the errors of the past.”  He added: “Our commitment to a safe return and the announced amnesty remains open to anyone who lays down their arms, ceases fighting within the ranks of the militias and returns to their family and homeland, in accordance with the announced procedures.”  Al-Alimi said one of his government’s top priorities would be to resume paying public-sector salaries and settle outstanding arrears.  He also thanked Saudi Arabia for its support.  “At this national moment, we cannot but express our profound gratitude to our loyal brethren in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — leadership, government and people — who stood by Yemen during its most trying times,” he said.  Shortly before the speech, Saudi Arabia announced a new financial assistance package worth more than SR224 million ($59.7 million) for the Yemeni government to help pay salaries, cover operating expenses, reduce the budget deficit and support the economy.  The announcement came as fighting intensified around a key road linking Taiz with the southern port city of Aden.  Residents told Arab News that the road, which passes through Al-Turbah south of Taiz, had been cut off by heavy fighting as the Houthis sought to seize it and isolate the city.  Yemeni political analysts and military officials said the long-anticipated declaration of large-scale operations reflected the failure of efforts to persuade the Houthis to halt their military activities and reach a political settlement.  Najeeb Ghallab, undersecretary at Yemen’s Information Ministry, told Arab News that despite the UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022, the Houthis had continued expanding militarily while rejecting peace efforts and calls for deescalation.  He said the internationally recognized government had been left with little choice but to resume military operations.  “This announcement indicates that the legitimate government and the Yemeni people have become fully convinced that the Houthis have rejected all paths to peace, persisting instead in building their military strength to wage war and relentlessly striving to weaken the legitimate government and the Yemeni state itself,” Ghallab said.  He added that the Houthis had extended the conflict beyond Yemen by targeting international shipping in waters off the country.  “The Houthis have moved toward escalation in service of the Iranian agenda and its conflict with the US; consequently, the Republic of Yemen has been compelled to declare war as the only option to defend itself and protect its people,” he said.  Fatehi bin Lazerq, editor of the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper, said the government’s declaration of large-scale military operations had come as a last resort after peace efforts failed.  “Over the past few years, the Houthis worked on developing their military capabilities, while the legitimate government and the coalition focused on the peace process, believing that peace with the Houthis was possible,” bin Lazerq told Arab News.  He said the Houthis had increasingly linked their military actions inside Yemen to Iran’s regional agenda and its conflicts with the US and Israel.  “The coalition and the legitimate government have reached an impasse, as the Houthis are acting in accordance with a foreign agenda,” he said.  “Consequently, the option of peace has collapsed, leaving war as the only remaining, albeit highly costly, option.”  Bin Lazerq said government forces could defeat the Houthis only through “real and coordinated operations” across all fronts.  Yemeni army officers fighting the Houthis said they had long awaited such a declaration, arguing that it would allow the government to mobilize forces and resources more effectively.  Brig. Yahya Al-Hatemi, director of the Yemeni army’s military media, told Arab News that the coming hours would be “decisive,” with a large-scale mobilization of forces and intensified strikes against the Houthis.  “This is a decision of utmost importance,” he said.  “It rapidly paves the way for military mobilization and the massing of forces, granting the Yemeni armed forces the upper hand to achieve strategic gains on the ground and put an end to this rebellion.”