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Yemen

April 21, 2025

Sanaa 6:00 am

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A February 6, 2025 photo shows the US Treasury in Washington, DC. Opponents to US President Donald Trump say he allowed Elon Musk -- the world's richest man and a major government contractor -- to break the law by accessing US Treasury payment systems that send out trillions of dollars and hold a welter of sensitive personal data. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US sanctions Russia-based network for aiding Houthis as strikes continue

The sanctions target several individuals based in Russia accused of assisting Houthi official Sa’id al-Jamal, who has been under US sanctions since 2021.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participates in a TV interview outside of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hegseth visited the White House to join U.S. President Donald Trump in announcing the Next Generation of Air Dominance (NGDA) program, the F-47, the sixth-generation high-tech Air Force fighter to succeed the F-22 Raptor. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What the Signal chat leak reveals about Trump’s Middle East policy

Washington is reeling from an unprecedented leak of the military’s operational plans to strike Yemen’s Houthis, which were shared on a Signal group chat that included a high-profile journalist.

The United States aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, anchored off the coast at Tien Sa Port on March 5, 2018 in Danang, Vietnam.

Pentagon sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East as Trump warns Iran

The USS Carl Vinson is expected to vastly increase Washington's strike capabilities in the Gulf region as Trump gives Tehran a two-month deadline to reach a new nuclear agreement.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before leading a board meeting, on March 17, 2025, in Washington.

Trump's Middle East strategy faces scrutiny as Gaza reignites

As the civilian death toll climbs in Gaza, can the self-proclaimed peacemaker president get both sides back to the negotiating table?

Latest News

US looks to bolster Middle East defenses as strikes against Houthis ramp up

An F18 Hornet fighter jet lands on the 330 meters navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 8, 2018.

Analysis

Can US halt Houthi attacks without getting embroiled in Gaza, Yemen wars?

Men check the damages in an area struck by a US airstrike in Huthi-controlled Sanaa on March 20, 2025. Israel said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on March 20, as the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion international airport. The United States, Israel's main backer, has pledged to hit Yemen with lethal and overwhelming force until the Huthis stop their harassment campaign. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Analysis

With rial in free fall, Trump’s warning to Iran over Houthis poses strategic dilemma

A man pays using Iranian rials at a shop, in Tehran on July 31, 2019. - The government in sanctions-hit Iran on Wednesday approved a plan to remove zeros from the rial and rename the currency -- something its people have long been doing to simplify transactions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Pentagon lays out goals for Yemen strikes after Trump warns Iran not to intervene

Yemenis in Sanaa watch a televised statement by the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announcing the rebel group launched an attack on a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on March 16, 2025.

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

In this handout image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, a Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4s is being prepared to conduct further strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen at RAF Akrotiri on Feb. 3, 2024 in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

US strikes on Yemen's Houthis, China stimulus drive surge in oil prices

Brent crude was up 1.3% to $71.53 a barrel on Monday morning compared to close on Sunday.

Yemenis brandish rifles and chant during a demonstration called for by the rebel Huthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025. Huge crowds joined protests in rebel-controlled Yemen on March 17 after deadly US strikes killed dozens and sparked fears of a new cycle of violence in the conflict-torn country. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

US airstrikes against Yemen's Houthis: Game-changer or more of the same?

Experts warn an expanded US strike campaign in Yemen is unlikely to deter the Houthis.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A picture shows a military drone on display at an exhibition held by Yemen's Huthi group in the capital Sanaa on Nov. 19, 2024.

Houthis using Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells to build stealthier drones: Report

A new report reveals that the Houthis are incorporating Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells into their drones, potentially improving their range and reducing detection by air defenses.

US President Donald Trump shows an executive order withdrawing his country from a number of United Nations bodies in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order withdrawing his country from a number of United Nations bodies, including its Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and setting up a broader review of US funding for the multilateral organization. The executive order said it withdrew Washington from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency

US formally rebrands Yemen's Houthis as foreign terrorist organization

Critics say the Houthis' blacklisting will hamper aid delivery in the war-torn country.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS RED SEA, YEMEN - NOVEMBER 20: This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen. On Monday, the Houthi movement in Yemen released footage and photos of the Houthi-run coastguard taking over the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader Vessel in the Red Sea, which had 52 people onboard. Galaxy Leader is owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd in the Isle of Man and is li

Analysis

How will Trump's terrorist designation of Houthis impact Red Sea attacks?

Oil trade via the Houthi-controlled Bab el-Mandeb strait decreased by 50% after the Yemeni rebels launched maritime attacks, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump moves to list Yemen's Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization

Armed Yemeni tribesmen join Houthi fighters riding military vehicles during an anti-US and Israel rally on the outskirts of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on Jan. 16, 2025.

Senate Republicans sponsor bill to redesignate Yemen's Houthis as terror outfit

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair says a stronger stance on Yemen's Houthi rebels will be part of Trump's renewed maximum pressure campaign against Iran.

Thick smoke billows from a raging fire at oil storage tanks a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Huthi-held city of Hodeida on July 21, 2024. Yemen's Huthi rebels on July 21 promised a "huge" retaliation against Israel following a deadly strike on the port of Hodeida, as regional fallout widens from months of war in Gaza. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Israel’s Yemen strikes could be prelude to target Iran nuclear sites

Israel is debating whether to seize the detected window of opportunity and target not only the Houthis in Yemen but also Iran’s entire nuclear program.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Men carry a mock missile during a rally by university students and faculty denouncing strikes on Yemen and in solidarity with Palestinians.

Israel launches new airstrikes in Yemen, hits Sanaa airport for first time

Israel conducted massive airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including on Sanaa's international airport and the seaport of Hodeidah.

A banner depicting Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stands next to a ballistic missile in Baharestan Square, Tehran, Sept. 26, 2024.

Analysis

Were Israel's Yemen strikes trial run for major attack on Iran?

Some analysts consider the large-scale attack on Yemeni sites a test run for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, but others now view destabilizing the mullahs as the best approach.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Yemeni firefighters douse oil tanks with water at a power station hit in an Israeli airstrike in the Houthi-run capital, Sanaa, Dec. 19, 2024.

Israel strikes Yemen ports, power stations in retaliation against Houthis

Dozens of Israeli fighter jets struck three ports and two power plants in Sanaa, the capital.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: President Donald Trump (R) holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia to pursue two-track approach for Trump presidency

Riyadh is likely to compartmentalize business dealings with incoming President Donald Trump separately from its foreign policy engagements, where there is likely to be disagreement.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics