{"id":239972,"date":"2026-08-07T15:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/239972\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:01:11","slug":"houthis-claims-of-deadly-attacks-stoke-fears-of-a-wider-regional-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/239972\/","title":{"rendered":"Houthis’ claims of deadly attacks stoke fears of a wider regional conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAIRO (AP) \u2014 Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility<\/a> for a series of deadly attacks this week, escalating the conflict between them and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and raising fears of a wider regional conflagration.<\/p>\n

The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and troops and also targeted Saudi tankers in transit from Red Sea ports through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait out to the Gulf of Aden and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Though less significant than the Strait of Hormuz, around 12% of the world\u2019s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, once passed through Bab el-Mandeb, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt\u2019s Suez Canal. Fewer tankers have passed through the strait since this week\u2019s attacks, according to shipping data published by the analytics firm Kpler this week. <\/p>\n

Weeks of Houthi escalation reflected how Iran \u201cis scaling up pressure on the United States in Yemen through its close ally,\u201d according to Yemen researcher Afrah Nasser.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe escalation is directly connected to regional developments,\u201d she wrote in an analysis for the nonprofit DAWN on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Houthi attacks \u2014 including one in northeastern Yemen on Friday morning \u2014 come weeks after the rebels declared a blockade on Saudi-linked ships leaving the strait in retaliation for a yearslong Saudi siege on Yemen and recent attacks<\/a> on the Houthi-controlled capital.<\/p>\n

One Houthi attack on Thursday injured 11 civilians, including a 4-year-old child, according to the Saudi military. Others on Saudi-backed military camps in eastern Yemen killed at least 17 soldiers, according to SABA news agency, which is affiliated with Yemen\u2019s internationally recognized government.<\/p>\n

Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said on X on Friday that the group will continue to target any Saudi buildups in an effort to lift the kingdom\u2019s blockade on Yemen.<\/p>\n

Sporadic attacks risk largely blocking the waterway<\/p>\n

In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has shown that even sporadic attacks on ships can be enough to effectively close a critical waterway by driving up risks and insurance premiums. Experts have warned that if ships fear traversing Bab el-Mandeb so much that they do not attempt passage, it means two of the world\u2019s most important maritime routes will effectively be disrupted, compounding the crisis facing commercial shipping and the global oil supply.<\/p>\n

Bab el-Mandeb has worked as a pressure release valve since the start of the Iran war, with more tankers transiting through it with the Strait of Hormuz under threat. Exports flowing from Saudi ports have blunted some of the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure.<\/p>\n

Three Houthi officials told The Associated Press in July that the group has planned for months how to disrupt shipping in the strait. The group doesn\u2019t control the part of Yemen\u2019s coastline along Bab el-Mandeb but holds territory less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.<\/p>\n

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to speak to the media.<\/p>\n

Outside Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz, the options for exporting Gulf oil and gas to the broader world are limited, but include piping supply across the Arabian Peninsula and routing it through Egypt\u2019s Suez Canal or rerouting ships toward a costly and lengthy journey around South Africa\u2019s Cape of Good Hope.<\/p>\n

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Attacks could draw retaliation and reignite Yemen\u2019s war<\/p>\n

Yemen\u2019s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. Saudi Arabia has led an international coalition fighting the rebels and also imposed an air and sea blockade on Houthi-held parts of Yemen, which had eased in recent years.<\/p>\n

The Houthis say closing Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi traffic aims to break the coalition\u2019s blockade.<\/p>\n

Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the blockade also benefits the Houthis\u2019 ally, Iran, at a time when the U.S. has resumed daily airstrikes.<\/p>\n

\u2033From Iran\u2019s perspective, opening additional pressure points across the region gives it more leverage,\u201d Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the AP last month. \u201cThe Houthis provide Tehran with influence over one of the world\u2019s most important maritime choke-points.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Al-Haj reported from Aden, Yemen. Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Jerusalem contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CAIRO (AP) \u2014 Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks this week, escalating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[719,2371,17246,4282,24308,328,777,197,379,34,196,768,2222,200,82,706],"class_list":["post-239972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iran","tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","tag-2024-2026-mideast-wars","tag-ahmed-nagi","tag-assault","tag-blockades","tag-business","tag-energy-industry","tag-general-news","tag-houthis","tag-iran","tag-iran-war","tag-military-and-defense","tag-oil-and-gas-industry","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-world-news","tag-yemen"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117054831686682881","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}