Strikes by Yemen‘s Houthis on Sunday killed at least 11 people, a medical source in the Yemeni port city of Mokha has told AFP, after an earlier drone salvo targeted a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea coast.
A years-long truce in Yemen‘s civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government appeared to collapse last month.
A senior Saudi official, speaking anonymously to Reuters late on Thursday, said intelligence gathered by Saudi Arabia, the United States and other countries in the region indicated that civilian and economic sites could be targeted.
The potential targets include energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
Saudi Arabia had detected the movement of drones and missiles, according to the official, suggesting preparations for attacks from Iraq to the north and Yemen to the south.
(August 2, 2026)
In Sanaâa, Yemenâs capital, pictures of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi are a frequent sight. He glowers from billboards, with a dagger tucked in his belt. Crowds watch his speeches on big screens. His followers wave banners showing his face. Mr Houthi is everywhereâand nowhere. The rebel leader, who has controlled most of north-west Yemen for more than a decade, never appears in public. He holds meetings by video from caves and safe-houses.
The sources added that the casualty numbers were expected to rise.
Fighting in Yemen between the pro-Iranian Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent weeks, after four years of relative calm.
(July 31, 2026)
The battle to restore the State institutions and eliminate the militias‘ coup isn‘t just the army‘s battle, but it is everybody‘s fight, al-Alimi stressed.
The President emphasized that the current stage requires political parties to reclaim their natural role as forces of enlightenment, mobilization and rallying against threats, to restore respect for the idea of the national state and to reinforce the isolation of militias and their destructive agenda.
The political parties need to make the battle to restore the State institutions a matter for the whole society, not only a government‘s task or issue, al-Alimi noted.
On August 1, 2026, a merchant vessel successfully navigated the Red Sea under the escort of the Italian frigate Bergamini, according to a statement from the European Unionâs naval mission ASPIDES. The protective operation highlights ongoing maritime security efforts in a region currently experiencing significant geopolitical tensions.
Military spokesperson says maritime blockade has forced Saudi tankers to avoid Red Sea route
Fourteen countries have backed a Saudi proposal to establish a multinational âMaritime Defense Alliance,â aimed at protecting international shipping routes and global trade, Saudi Arabiaâs Ministry of Defense said in a statement Thursday.
The countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia.
The ministry said military chiefs and other representatives from 43 countries attended a meeting on the initiative, either in person or by video link. A European Union delegation also took part.
While the new blockade has disrupted shipping in the region, Ansar Allah hasnât announced a blanket ban on shipping through the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some Chinese ships loaded with Saudi crude have also been able to pass through the strait, and Reuters reported that Beijing had cleared each passage with Sanaa.
But as the US-Iran war and conflict across the region are escalating again, the chances of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait being completely closed are rising. The Al-Monitor report, which cited two diplomatic sources and an unnamed US official, said that Riyadh has invited around 50 nations to join the Red Sea coalition, but that US support was seen as vital for the initiative to take off, and it was unclear at this point if Washington would participate.
Der Bundestag hat am Donnerstag, 16. Oktober 2025, den Bundeswehreinsatz im Roten Meer um ein Jahr verlĂ€ngert. Dazu lag ein Antrag der Bundesregierung fĂŒr die fortgesetzte Beteiligung der Bundeswehr an der EU-gefĂŒhrten Operation Eunavfor Aspides zur Abwehr von Angriffen der Huthi-Milizen auf die Schifffahrt im Roten Meer vor (21/1372(Dokument, öffnet ein neues Fenster)). In namentlicher Abstimmung wurde der Antrag auf Empfehlung des AuswĂ€rtigen Ausschusses mit 435 Ja-Stimmen bei 69 Gegenstimmen und 77 Enthaltungen angenommen.
A senior official in Yemen‘s Houthi movement said on Wednesday that the group, and not Iraq‘s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), carried out earlier attacks on Saudi Arabia, accusing Riyadh of blaming Iraqi factions for operations they did not conduct.
Abdullah Al-Numi, a member of the political bureau of the Houthi movement (Ansarallah) told Shafaq News that the PMF had repeatedly denied attacking Saudi Arabia, while his movement had openly claimed responsibility for earlier operations against Saudi ports and facilities, including sites in Yanbu and Jizan.
A member of Yemenâs Presidential Leadership Council has called for increased combat readiness within military and security units, describing the fight against the Houthis as a âfateful battleâ.
Sultan al-Arada made the remarks during a meeting in Marib with Defence Minister, Taher al-Uqaili, and armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Saghir bin Aziz, where they âreviewed field conditions and progress of operational plansâ, the Saba news agency reported.
Al-Arada said the campaign waged by government forces aims to restore state institutions and end âthe rebellionâ by the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that its coalition forces struck Houthi militia in Yemen after the Iran-backed group claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea earlier in the week.
Air defenses in Saudi Arabia reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen.
The latest salvos appeared to indicate an escalation in fighting in a second front in the Iran war.
Der Angriffskrieg Israels und der USA gegen den Iran breitete sich in der Nacht endgĂŒltig auf das Rote Meer aus. Noch sind dort nur Schiffe von und zu sowie aus Saudi-Arabien betroffen, als Reaktion des Jemens auf die Blockade und die letzte Bombardierung des Flughafens von Sanaa. Aber Beobachter befĂŒrchten, dass bald auch Schiffe der LĂ€nder betroffen sein werden, welche den Krieg gegen den Iran, Libanon und PalĂ€stina unterstĂŒtzen. Die Chronologie des Tages beginnt mit den Ereignissen der Nacht.
„I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,“ Mr. Trump told Axios, adding that he believed Iran‘s leaders „want to negotiate,“ but aren‘t yet ready to make a deal.
„They haven‘t received enough pain yet,“ he told the outlet.
U.S. forces carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes across Iran on Wednesday, and Mr. Trump warned in a social media post Thursday that the Islamic Republic and its Houthi allies would both face „major military punishment“ if the Yemeni rebels repeat their attacks from earlier this week on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
(10 hours ago)
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said its armed forces targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, claiming the vessels had violated a ban imposed by the group.
Saudi Arabia‘s state media later confirmed that one of its vessels was struck and the bow of the ship caught fire, with a source adding that all crew members onboard Encelia were safe.
Born into poverty and with little opportunity at home, Hiwot Mehari took the dangerous smuggling route out of Ethiopia and across the Red Sea to Yemen, from where he hoped to reach Saudi Arabia.
After two years in the deadly border region between Yemen and Saudi Arabia known as Rago, Mehari was caught by border security men and thrown into prison.
On 28 April 2025, he became one of dozens of Ethiopians killed in a US air strike on a migrant detention in Saada, northwest Yemen.
The next day, at noon, Mehariâs parents received the news at home from a neighbour in the Tsirae district of war-ravaged Tigray.
President Trump on Tuesday suggested he could restart a bombing campaign in Yemen in response to the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, enforcing a blockade on the Red Sea.
Trumpâs comments came after Ansar Allah announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, which came a week after the Saudis bombed Yemenâs Sanaa airport to prevent the landing of a plane carrying a Yemeni delegation from Iran to enforce its long-standing blockade on the country that was eased under a 2022 ceasefire deal but never fully lifted.
Trump spoke to Saudi Crown Prince on Friday in what many believe was to get Trumpâs approval for what MBS was planning to do as far as the Houthis in Yemen were concerned.
Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo of their foe Saudi Arabia after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
The rebels âdeclare a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of âan eye for an eye,â effective immediately upon the issuance of this statementâ, military spokesman Yahya Saree said
(July 18, 2026)
Pakistan reportedly warned Iran that any attack by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia would be viewed as an attack on Pakistan, reaffirming its defence commitment to the Kingdom.
The warning follows recent Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, raising fears of a broader regional escalation and placing Islamabad under growing strategic pressure.
(52 min ago)
In a televised statement, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi addressed the Yemeni people, claiming readiness for full-scale escalation „if the Saudi enemy chooses full-scale escalation“.
Iranian officials have asked Yemenâs Houthis to block the Red Sea if the U.S. carries out strikes on Tehranâs energy sites, according to Reuters.
Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter reportedly told the outlet that the Houthis had been informed of the request, which was discussed within the Islamic Republicâs leadership.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan, which helped broker an interim deal last month in the war between Washington and Tehran, signed a mutual defence agreement with âSaudi Arabia last year and thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been deployed to the kingdom, alongside a squadron of fighter jets.
Pakistan had already voiced anger about Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia earlier this year, but regional analysts and officials said the attacks this week had pushed Islamabad‘s frustration with Iran to a new level as they raised the prospect of a new Saudi-Houthi conflict.
(July 15, 2026)
The U.S. State Department is aware of reports that President Donald Trump has given Saudi Arabia the green light to launch military action against Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthi movement following attacks on the kingdom, a department spokesperson told MBN in a statement.
(July 14, 2026)
The country‘s size relative to other much smaller Gulf states meant it fared better during the war, continuing to export oil via a pipeline from the east to its west coast on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
A wider conflict with the Houthis, who have in the past targeted Red Sea shipping, could challenge that.
The Saudi government‘s communication office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(July 13, 2026)
Tehran condemned the attack on Sanaa airport, with a foreign ministry spokesperson describing it „as a clear violation of international law“.
But following the strikes on Sanaa, the head of Yemen‘s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said he had „ordered that the scope of the confrontation not be expanded“.
(July 5, 2026)
ADEN: Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed 14 troops in an attack south of the port city of Hodeidah, a military official aligned with the countryâs internationally-recognized government told AFP on Sunday.