Yemen's Houthi rebels have announced a new "total ban" on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, as the conflict between Iran and Israel flared again on Sunday following Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Red Sea blockade, if enforced, would once again disrupt global shipping lanes © Mena Today
Yemen's Houthi rebels have announced a new "total ban" on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, as the conflict between Iran and Israel flared again on Sunday following Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.
"We consider all movements of the enemy to be legitimate military targets," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree declared in a statement, threatening to "respond to escalation with escalation."
The Iran-backed group also claimed to have fired a "missile barrage" at Tel Aviv earlier in the day, the latest in a series of long-range strikes the Houthis have launched against Israel since the regional conflict erupted.
The announcements underscore the increasingly coordinated nature of Iran's network of proxies. As Iranian ballistic missiles target northern Israel and Hezbollah continues its attacks from Lebanon, the Houthis are simultaneously threatening maritime trade routes and striking Israeli cities, a multi-front pressure campaign designed to stretch Israel's defences and signal that Tehran's reach extends from Yemen to the Mediterranean.
The Red Sea blockade, if enforced, would once again disrupt global shipping lanes that handle a significant share of world trade, with potentially serious consequences for energy markets and supply chains.
By Siad Elmah
Israel said on Monday it hit a petrochemical plant in Iran's southwest, along with strikes elsewhere on military targets, after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a ballistic missile attack on northern Israel on Sunday evening, in what it described as a "warning" of a far broader response to come if Israeli and American "aggressions" continue.
The stakes in the confrontation with Iran extend far beyond the Middle East. If Tehran emerges from this crisis looking stronger, the damage will not be confined to Israel or the Gulf.
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