{"id":40298,"date":"2026-03-28T17:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/40298\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:59:16","slug":"war-in-middle-east-intensifies-with-first-strike-from-iran-backed-houthis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/40298\/","title":{"rendered":"War in Middle East intensifies with first strike from Iran-backed Houthis"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iranian-backed Houthi rebels<\/a> entered the month-old war in the Middle East<\/a> on Saturday, claiming a missile launch that Israel said it intercepted. Pakistan<\/a> said regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting, while Iran expressed skepticism about the diplomatic efforts. And about 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region.<\/p>\n

The war<\/a> has threatened global supplies<\/a> of oil, natural gas and fertilizer<\/a> and disrupted air travel. Iran\u2019s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz<\/a> has shaken markets and prices. The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. Over 3,000 people have been killed.<\/p>\n

The Houthis\u2019 entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world\u2019s trade typically passes.<\/p>\n

There could be limited relief in sight after Iran on Friday agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments<\/a> through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> following a request from the United Nations. U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, meanwhile, has given Iran until April 6 to reopen the strait.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said it targeted Iran\u2019s naval weapons production facilities. Iran fired missiles toward Israel, and rescue service Magen David Adom said 11 people were lightly wounded near Jerusalem. And Ukraine\u2019s president visited Gulf nations<\/a> as his country offers defense help with drones.<\/p>\n

Houthi involvement could further complicate the war<\/p>\n

Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on the rebels\u2019 Al-Masirah satellite television station that they launched missiles toward \u201csensitive Israeli military sites\u201d in southern Israel.<\/p>\n

If the Houthis increase attacks on commercial shipping, as they have in the past, it would further push up oil prices and destabilize \u201call of maritime security,\u201d said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. \u201cThe impact would not be limited to the energy market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is crucial for vessels heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through it because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.<\/p>\n

Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels<\/a>, between November 2023 and January 2025, saying it was attacking in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the war there between Israel and Hamas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Houthis\u2019 latest involvement would complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier that arrived in Croatia on Saturday for repairs. Sending it to the Red Sea could draw attacks similar to those on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Houthis<\/a> have held Yemen\u2019s capital, Sanaa, since 2014. Saudi Arabia launched a war against the Houthis on behalf of Yemen\u2019s exiled government in 2015, and they now have an uneasy ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Attempts at diplomacy as US sends more troops to the region<\/p>\n

Pakistan said Saturday that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will send top diplomats to Islamabad for talks aimed at ending the war, arriving Sunday for a two-day visit for \u201cin-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held \u201cextensive discussions\u201d on regional hostilities.<\/p>\n

But the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told his Turkish counterpart by phone that Tehran was skeptical about recent diplomatic efforts. Iranian state-run media said Araghchi accused the United States of making \u201cunreasonable demands\u201d and exhibiting \u201ccontradictory actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington delivered<\/a> a 15-point \u201caction list\u201d<\/a> to Iran for a possible ceasefire, with a proposal to restrict Iran\u2019s nuclear program \u2014 the issue at the heart of tensions with the U.S and Israel \u2014 and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran rejected it and presented a five-point proposal<\/a> that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the waterway.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, U.S. ships with some 2,500 Marines trained in amphibious landings have arrived, adding to the largest U.S. force in the region in over 20 years. And at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne<\/a>, trained to land in hostile territory to secure key positions and airfields, have been ordered to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. \u201ccan achieve all of our objectives without ground troops.\u201d<\/p>\n

US troops suffer casualties at Saudi base, AP sources say<\/p>\n

More than two dozen U.S. troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia\u2019s Prince Sultan Air Base<\/a> in the past week, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.<\/p>\n

Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at the base Friday, injuring at least 15 troops, including five seriously, they said.<\/p>\n

The base, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, came under attack twice earlier in the week, including a strike that wounded 14 U.S. troops, according to the people briefed on the matter.<\/p>\n

Over 300 U.S. service members have been wounded in the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Death toll climbs<\/p>\n

Iranian authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed in the Islamic Republic, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon<\/a>, where Israel has started an invasion<\/a> in the south, officials said more than 1,100 people have been killed since the start of the war.<\/p>\n

At least 13 U.S. troops have been reported killed. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have died.<\/p>\n

In Gulf states, 20 people have been killed and four others in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Magdy reported from Cairo and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the month-old war in the Middle East on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[211,17246,328,38,1402,17244,197,2942,17245,379,34,61,196,37,199,210,3620,49,324,768,16811,81,463,16816,2017,7339,200,82,17243],"class_list":{"0":"post-40298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-abbas-araghchi","9":"tag-ahmed-nagi","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-drone-surveillance-and-warfare","13":"tag-dwight-d-eisenhower","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-gerald-ford","16":"tag-harry-s-truman","17":"tag-houthis","18":"tag-iran","19":"tag-iran-government","20":"tag-iran-war","21":"tag-israel","22":"tag-israel-government","23":"tag-marco-rubio","24":"tag-masoud-pezeshkian","25":"tag-middle-east","26":"tag-mideast-wars","27":"tag-military-and-defense","28":"tag-pakistan-government","29":"tag-politics","30":"tag-religion","31":"tag-shehbaz-sharif","32":"tag-steve-witkoff","33":"tag-turkey-government","34":"tag-war-and-unrest","35":"tag-world-news","36":"tag-yahya-saree"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116308106481065151","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40298","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=40298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}