Houthi attacks raise fears of wider Middle East conflict and more global economic damage

Yemen's Houthi fighters claim to have attacked shipping in the Red Sea - a move that threatens to further escalate the already volatile situation in the Middle East.

By forcing ships to turn back from the narrow Bab El Mandeb strait, they have threatened to choke off the main maritime route from Europe to Asia.

It comes as US-Iran strikes continue and while a deal to develop Saudi Arabia's nuclear industry prompts fears of an arms race.

So far, 2026 is sadly proving to be one of the more violent years for parts of the Middle East.

For 12 consecutive nights, US Central Command (Centcom) has carried out air strikes on Iranian coastal radar, drone and missile bases.

The Gulf Arab states, in normal times a haven of low-crime tranquility and minimal taxation, are having to learn to live with constant attacks from their well-armed neighbour across the water: the Islamic Republic of Iran.

And now the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have entered the fray, after a 2022 ceasefire with neighbouring Saudi Arabia appeared to have broken down.

Saudi Arabia has been trying to distance itself from the Iran-US war and has been largely spared the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attacks that have rained down this month on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

From there, they have been able to ship oil in bulk to customers in Asia using tankers that depart south, past Yemen and that Bab El Mandeb Strait, and out into the open Indian Ocean.

But not anymore - at least not while the Houthis are threatening vessels that pass by their coast.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to "take care of the Houthis" but that has not worked before - and without a deal, it will not work this time.

The Houthis are a Shia tribal group from the far north of Yemen, based around the city of Saada.

In 2014, taking advantage of the turmoil of the recent Arab Spring protests that rocked the Middle East, they marched south and took over the capital, Sanaa. They have since taken over most of the populated parts of Yemen, including the strategic port of Hodeidah.

The Saudis went to war with the Houthis in 2015 in support of the legitimate but ousted Yemeni government, as they did not want an Iranian-backed militia in power on their southern border.

They expected that their vastly superior, Western-supplied air force would soon be able to bomb the Houthis to the negotiating table and that the rebels would quickly sue for peace.

But the Houthis never capitulated, despite horrific civilian casualties largely caused by years of air strikes, and today they are firmly entrenched in power.

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