Yemen - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Yemen cover image

Yemen

July 3, 2026

Sanaa 12:49 am

21°C

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.

Iranian media: Yemen ex-president's death result of his 'betrayal'

Iranian media opine that Ali Abdullah Saleh’s reported talks with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and consequently the breaking of his alliance with the Houthis led to his death.

Houthi fighters react after Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed, in Sanaa, Yemen December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1993369A90

Saleh killed in Yemen following peace overture; UAE denies Houthi missile claim

Iranian media report, but the UAE denies, that the Houthis fired a missile toward Abu Dhabi over the weekend in response to a Saudi-brokered deal to return former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to power; Saleh was killed Dec. 4.

Is Saudi crown prince winning or losing in the Middle East?

With Saad Hariri staying on as prime minister in Lebanon, the Saudi crown prince has suffered another setback in his efforts to counter Iran.

Houthi followers carry coffins of those killed in a car blast attack on Monday, and a Houthi fighter who was killed during fighting in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, in Sanaa July 22, 2015. Five people were killed in the blast that hit the Moeed mosque in Sanaa, which is used by the Houthis, police sources said. Islamic State's Yemen branch claimed responsibility for the attack, in which seven others were wounded. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - GF10000166909

Defeating IS in Yemen

While the Islamic State has faced major defeats in Iraq and Syria, the protracted war in Yemen has provided the terrorist group's branch in that country oxygen to breathe.

People gather at the site of an air strike in Sanaa, Yemen November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC167B6883D0

Yemenis 'trapped in hell' as war escalates

With help from the United States and the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s blockade and airstrikes on Yemen have created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1D4FEC9240

Has Kushner given Riyadh carte blanche?

Diplomats and military chiefs worry Jared Kushner's peace play could be giving Saudis and Emiratis a sense of entitlement to take overreaching, hard-line actions that could destabilize the region.

Posters depicting Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon's prime minister from Saudi Arabia, is seen at airport high way in Beirut, Lebanon November 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi - RC119900A480

Can Lebanon handle truth about Hariri, Saudi Arabia?

Saad Hariri faces his own court of conscience; US-Iran relations revert to axis of evil days.

Women walk past a collapsed roof of a building destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa September 7, 2015. Jets belonging to a Saudi-led coalition killed at least 20 people at a wake in northern Yemen on Sunday, local tribesmen said, as warplanes pounded Houthis and other forces behind a missile strike that had killed dozens of Gulf Arab soldiers. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - GF10000196256

US support for Saudi war in Yemen soars under Trump

The Defense Department more than doubled US refueling support for Saudi Arabia’s campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen over the past year amid rising congressional opposition.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) speaks with members of the royal family during an allegiance pledging ceremony in Mecca, Saudi Arabia June 21, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1D46E7F800

Is US counseling restraint to Saudi crown prince?

Saudi Arabia claims two "acts of war" in one week; Israel and Syria both back the Druze.

Posters depicting Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who has resigned from his post, are seen in Beirut, Lebanon, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC18F02935F0

Iran taking Saudi rhetoric, actions seriously

The Saudi-Iranian clash that has Lebanon swirling in the middle could spiral out of control.

Shock suspension of Iranian hard-line daily over headline

Kayhan, the mouthpiece of Iran’s hard-liners, has been suspended for two days after a headline suggesting that Yemen’s Houthi movement will attack Dubai.

Controversy in Iran over headline targeting Dubai

A headline perceived as belligerent sparks a broad backlash against the hard-line Iranian daily Kayhan.