Yemen is moving closer to a return to civil war. The escalating events in the Arab world’s poorest country are closely linked to the war in Iran and global efforts to ship oil out of the Gulf region.
Here’s a look at an emerging conflict involving an Iranian-backed rebel group’s efforts to keep neighboring Saudi Aabia from using a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, and how that could tear Yemen apart once more.
Yemen is home to over 40 million people who fear a return to the civil war that killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine in one of the world’s most sprawling humanitarian crises. A ceasefire with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a wider coalition backed by the Saudis began in 2022.
Now that truce is buckling.
Yemen’s troubles are in part because of its strategic location at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and alongside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. It’s one of the busiest global shipping lanes and one that the world is turning to as Iran continues to target ships on the Strait of Hormuz.
The civil war left many Yemenis hungry and beyond the reach of aid. In what would be a significant advance, residents said Thursday the Houthis have now entered the key Red Sea port of Mokha, which has been held by Yemen’s internationally recognized government. If confirmed, that endangers another crucial entry point for food and other assistance.
If the Houthis take Mokha, that’s also one more step toward the Bab el-Mandeb, creating further complications for shipping on the Red Sea — and not only for the Saudis. The United States has shown signs of wanting to wrap up the Iran war and get oil-laden vessels on the move everywhere, not broaden the fight.
The ceasefire’s fragile calm held until weeks ago, when the Houthis tested a Saudi-led blockade of rebel-held areas. The Saudis struck the international airport in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, which the Houthis called an attempt to prevent a plane carrying Houthi leaders from returning home after attending the funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
