US Edition
The Iran War Has a New Front in Yemen. Here’s How It Could Escalate
Houthis launched ballistic missiles against Israeli targets in coordination with Iran and Hezbollah, threatening vital Red Sea maritime routes used by 12% of global trade, experts say.
- On Saturday, March 28, the Yemen-based Houthi group launched its first ballistic missile strike against Israel since the conflict began. Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier-General Yahya Saree confirmed the operation, vowing "our operations will continue until the objectives are achieved."
- The Houthis have controlled Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, receiving weapons and missile technology from Tehran as part of Iran's "Axis of Resistance." The group previously targeted shipping and Israel between 2023 and 2025 to support Palestinians in Gaza.
- Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said Sunday the military is "preparing to defend ourselves for as long as needed" from this new front. The Israeli military confirmed intercepting the incoming ballistic missile threat on Saturday.
- Nearly 15% of global maritime trade passes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Houthi threats to block the waterway could disrupt global trade and shipping costs. Previous disruptions between 2023 and 2025 cost approximately $20 billion annually.
- The Houthis suggested they are not targeting the U.S. for now, indicating to regional allies that their focus remains the Palestinian cause. However, risks of wider escalation remain significant if they expand operations to Saudi Arabia or resume Red Sea shipping attacks.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The Iran war has a new front in Yemen. Here’s how it could escalate
After a month of threats, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels finally entered the Middle East conflict on Saturday, firing two missiles towards Israel. And in recent days they have also warned they could close a key waterway at the southern entrance of the Red Sea – raising the prospect of even greater disruption to global shipping and oil supplies.
Iran war escalates as Yemen’s Houthis join the fray
FacebookLikeShareTweetEmail Yemen’s Houthi movement, the Ansar’Allah, has opened a new front in the deadly US-Israel war on Iran, entering on Tehran’s side with missile strikes against Israel and raising the spectre of renewed attacks on vital Red Sea shipping lanes. On Sunday, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have said they carried out a second attack on Israel in less than 24 hours and vowed […]
Saudi payments delayed Houthi war entry
In the wake of the Houthis joining the war on Saturday, a journalist based in Yemen told Israel Hayom that the group's belated entry into the regional conflict stemmed in part from financial motives. The journalist also warned of the arrival of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps experts in Yemen, apparently to tighten coordination between the Iranian regime and the Houthis. "Right now, the Houthis are party to an agreement called the 'Road Map' w…
The Houthis had remained out of conflict so far, unlike what happened during Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, in which their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea affected commercial traffic, which was estimated at about $1 trillion a year.
As war on Iran enters second month, Yemen’s Houthis open new front
Key moments in first month of US-Israeli war on Iran Yemen’s Houthis have attacked Israel for the first time, a month after US and Israeli forces began striking Iran, opening up a new front in a rapidly escalating conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and rattled the…
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