Yemen’s Houthi movement has entered the US-Iran war with its first direct missile attacks against Israel since hostilities began on February 28, opening a new front in the conflict and raising serious concerns about the security of Red Sea shipping lanes.
The Houthis launched a barrage of missiles targeting what they described as “sensitive Israeli military sites” on Saturday, marking the group’s most significant military action since the US-Iran war escalated from airstrikes to a broader regional confrontation.
Israel’s military confirmed that it intercepted two missiles originating from Yemen. A second wave of missiles and drones was launched later the same day, indicating a sustained rather than one-off attack.
Houthis Signal Continued Escalation
A Houthi military spokesman issued a warning that the group’s involvement in the war was just beginning, stating that their “hands were on the trigger for direct military intervention.”
The group framed its attacks as part of a broader resistance to the US-led campaign, declaring that strikes would continue “until the aggression against all resistance fronts ceases” — language that ties the Houthi intervention directly to the outcome of the war against Iran.
The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, are a key component of Iran’s network of allied armed groups across the Middle East, often referred to as the “axis of resistance.” The network includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, though the degree of direct Iranian command-and-control over each group varies.
Red Sea Shipping Under Threat
The Houthi entry into the war introduces a dimension that extends far beyond the military balance between the US and Iran. The group controls a significant stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, including areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait — one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
Between November 2023 and early 2025, the Houthis launched approximately 200 attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea, damaging more than 30 ships. That campaign, conducted in response to the Israel-Gaza war, disrupted global shipping patterns and forced major container lines to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks and significant costs to voyages between Asia and Europe.
The resumption of Houthi attacks in the context of the US-Iran war raises the prospect of a return to those conditions — or worse.
Double Chokepoint Crisis
The timing of the Houthi intervention creates a particularly dangerous scenario for global energy markets. Iran’s partial restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz since the war began have already disrupted the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf, contributing to the surge in Brent crude prices above $116 per barrel.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have sought to mitigate Hormuz disruptions by increasing the use of overland pipelines that terminate at Red Sea ports, bypassing the Persian Gulf entirely. The East-West Pipeline, also known as the Petroline, carries Saudi crude to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
However, oil tankers departing Yanbu must transit southward through the Bab al-Mandab Strait — directly past Houthi-controlled territory. If the Houthis resume attacks on commercial shipping, this alternative export route would also be compromised, creating a double chokepoint crisis with no easy workaround.
Economic Implications
The global economy is already under significant strain from the war’s impact on energy prices and supply chains. A simultaneous disruption of both the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping lanes would affect an estimated 20-25% of global oil trade and a substantial share of container shipping between Asia and Europe.
Shipping insurers have already begun reassessing risk premiums for vessels transiting the Red Sea, and several major carriers are monitoring the situation before committing to routing decisions.
What to Watch
The key question is whether the Houthi attacks will remain focused on Israeli military targets or expand to include commercial shipping as they did during the 2023-2025 Red Sea campaign. A return to anti-shipping operations would represent a significant escalation with consequences extending well beyond the immediate theater of war.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, already stretched by operations against Iran in the Persian Gulf, would face the additional burden of protecting Red Sea shipping — a task that proved difficult even before the current war consumed significant naval assets.
Israel, for its part, has conducted strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in the past, including operations in 2024. Whether Jerusalem decides to respond militarily to the latest attacks could determine whether the Yemen front becomes a sustained second theater or remains a limited exchange.