“VHAYEYA EXPLAINERS”
WITH : GILCHRIST MUZA
YEMEN WAR RETURNS – FROM IRAN SHADOW WAR TO RED SEA FRONTLINE
Catching up with broadening West Asia Conflict
Has US-lsrael & lran War Spilled Over and reignited another one?
Is the Yemeni Civil War Back to Active Fighting?
We ask because it seems like the focus has been shifted from lran War to Yemen War
Into the story …..for months, the world’s attention was on the US-Israel war with Iran. Now, that war has spilled over and reignited another one.
Yemen, after three years of an uneasy truce, is back in full-scale war. And this time, it is not just a civil war, it is a battle for the world’s oil lifelines.
Multiple reports say it began far from Yemen. On February 28th, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, a massive campaign targeting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, its air defenses and missile sites. Washington called it pre-emptive. Iran retaliated, hitting US bases and trying to close the Strait of Hormuz.
So how did Yemen re-enter the picture?
Yemen’s Houthi movement officially Ansar Allah has controlled the capital Sanaa since 2014. Iran-aligned, battle-hardened from a decade of war against a Saudi-led coalition, they have always called themselves part of the Axis of Resistance.
Since October 2023, they had been firing at Israel and attacking ships in the Red Sea over the war in Gaza. But after the US-Israel strikes on Iran this February, they shifted strategy.
In July, they declared a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping. Then, on September 10th, they made their biggest move in years that is seizing the Red Sea port of Mokha, islands in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and moving on Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city.
The Bab al-Mandab is where 12% of global trade passes. With Hormuz already choked, this was a second chokepoint.
And how did Saudi Arabia respond?
On October 5th, its coalition with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, the Presidential Leadership Council, launched Operation Dawn of Yemen. The aim was to retake all Houthi-held territory.
The Saudi defense ministry says it has carried out over 2,100 strikes, hitting 136 Houthi targets, and has retaken the Kahboub Mountains overlooking the Strait. On the ground, more than 200,000 people have been displaced as fighting rages around Taiz.
But the Houthis are hitting back, not just in Yemen.
On October 10th, Houthi ballistic missiles hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi authorities say 12 people were killed and over 300 injured after the deadliest strike on the Saudi capital in over a decade. Flights were cancelled, airlines warned to avoid Saudi airspace.
So, is this connected to the US-Israel-Iran war?
Short answer – Yes, that too, directly.
Analysts describe Yemen as the second front of that war.
The US is not yet flying combat missions over Yemen, but it is providing intelligence and planning to Saudi Arabia.
President Trump said last week Washington would not rule out direct support for the Saudi response after the Riyadh airport attack.
Israel has also been consulted about possible strikes on Houthi targets.
The result is a regional war expanding. Oil is holding above 100 dollars a barrel, shipping through both Hormuz and the Red Sea is disrupted, and Yemen which the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is entering its 13th year of war.
From Sanaa to Riyadh to Washington, the question still remains the same: can this be contained to Yemen, or is this the regional war the world feared?
As the saying goes, only time will tell
We will continue tracking down the developments for you.
