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Yemen

July 2, 2026

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People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Members of Houthi security forces stand guard while supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement attend an event commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Saudi-led intervention in their country, in the capital, Sanaa, on March 26, 2026.

Exclusive

Senior Houthi official says Bab el Mandab closure an option if any Gulf states join war

Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour also said the strait could be closed “should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate.”

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Saudis shop for fresh products at a market in Riyadh on Feb. 18, 2026, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia.

Analysis

Alternative supply routes emerge as Iran war tests Gulf food security

Roughly 61 million people in the Gulf rely on established food supply chains, many of which have been upended since the United States and Israel launched their attack against Iran on Feb. 28.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Analysis

In Saudi Arabia, Erdogan fosters security alignment, $30B trade push

Riyadh

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Yemen’s Houthis hint at Red Sea attacks as US-Iran tensions rise: What to know

Galaxy Leader

Thousands rally for South Yemen independence amid Saudi diplomatic push

AFP via Getty Images

Egypt's economy can weather more Red Sea attacks, says finance minister

Ships sail along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on April 16, 2025.

A girl wears a protective face mask amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sanaa, Yemen March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC2GMF9MKBUS

Hope for Yemen? Plus, three quick takes on the IMF’s outlook for Iran, Lebanon and Egypt

The UN-Saudi peace initiative may be the best hope in an otherwise gloomy regional forecast during "The Great Lockdown."

People carry their belongings washed by rain water after the heavy rain in Sanaa, Yemen April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2B6G94NE9H

Deadly floods join war, disease to ravage Yemen

Recent floods have left at least five dead and injured nearly 100 others as Yemen struggles with war and a growing coronavirus crisis.

A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2CWF9RBYKA

Yemen’s Houthis seek regional role as part of Axis of Resistance

Iran-backed Ansar Allah may have ambitions well beyond Yemen.

A destroyed house is seen at a site which the Houthi-led authorities say was hit by a Saudi-led air strike at the old quarter Sanaa, Yemen September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC14219730A0

Will Iran back UN-Saudi initiative for cease-fire in Yemen?

For Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Yemen is too big to fail; for Iran, it’s a penny stock investment to keep the kingdom bogged down in a quagmire.

A girl wears a protective face mask amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sanaa, Yemen March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC2GMF9MKBUS

War-ravaged Yemen reports first case of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has officially struck Yemen, which war and poverty have left with a health care system in shambles.

Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee Adam Smith (D-WA) awaits the arrival of Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford to testify on the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Budget Request from the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BF79E5F30

Intel: Key Democrat says Yemen war restrictions 'on the table' in major defense bill

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., told Al-Monitor today that Democrats are considering renewing last year’s push to cut off US support to the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as part of Congress’ annual defense authorization bill.

Riyadh Agreement at risk of collapse in southern Yemen

Tensions flare between Saudi and UAE aligned forces.

A man sprays disinfectant to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside Jaramana Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC29WF9SNKKP

How the pandemic, plummeting oil prices could reshape Middle East

COVID-19 will weaken fragile states, raising risk of failure but creating openings for diplomacy.

Airstrikes on Yemen intensify, shatter hope for peace

The latest Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthi positions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa have ended all hopes for peace as the war-torn country braces for the coronavirus pandemic.

A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC2QVF91B7M0

Saudis risk losing last Republican defenders with oil price war

The oil price war places the Saudis at risk of losing their previously stalwart defenders on Capitol Hill, the last line of defense against legislation targeting the kingdom.

Members of the Baha'i faith hold flowers as they demonstrate outside a state security court during a hearing in the case of a fellow Baha'i man charged with seeking to establish a base for the community in Yemen, in the country's capital Sanaa April 3, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - GF10000369865

Will Baha'is be released from Yemeni prisons as ordered?

At the end of March, Houthi leaders ordered the release of all Baha'is currently detained in Yemeni prisons, including their leader, but there have been no signs of progress in that direction in the ensuing weeks.

Hamas, Houthis hope for deal with Saudi Arabia

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group is suggesting the release of Saudi captives in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Saudi jails, an unprecedented proposal that was widely welcomed by the Palestinian Hamas movement.