Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensify near Bab el-Mandeb
FRANCE 24 reports escalating Houthi attacks and wider fighting around a key maritime chokepoint, as an analyst assesses the conflict could be entering its final phase.
Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified amid wider fighting around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to FRANCE 24.
The strait is a strategic chokepoint for global trade and oil shipments, giving the conflict significance beyond Yemen’s borders. The reported escalation is also testing the regional influence associated with Iran’s support for the Houthis.
Farea Al-Muslimi, chairman of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, said the fighting could represent “the last round” of Yemen’s current war. That assessment remains a possibility rather than an established forecast.
The conflict is increasing pressure on Washington as the Houthis target US allies, FRANCE 24 reported. The source does not detail the extent of Iran’s operational support or provide independent corroboration of the reported intensification.
The escalation follows a period in which a UN-mediated truce that began in 2022 formally expired, while a de facto Saudi-Houthi ceasefire largely continued. Confidence-building measures included the resumption of Sanaa–Saudi flights in June 2023 and Houthi talks in Riyadh in September that year.
