Conflict & Security
Yemen escalation threatens Red Sea shipping and global energy chokepoint
July 14, 2026 at 03:05 PM · Updated 95d ago
Coverage
4 reports · 1 in Arabic, 3 in English · over 9 hours
A government airstrike on Sanaa airport and Houthi missile retaliation have ended a four-year truce, raising risks to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
- Yemen's internationally recognised government bombed the runway at Sanaa International Airport on Monday to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
- Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport, which the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted.
- Houthi officials said the Iranian aircraft was transporting medical patients and a delegation from the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
- Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait carries 4.0 million barrels per day of oil trade as of 2024.
Latest developments
- Dozens have been killed in the worst violence since a 2022 truce, with both sides mobilizing fighters.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly requested US military support against the Houthis.
- An Iranian plane that landed in Sanaa may have been carrying weapons, marking the first such public flight from Tehran in over a decade.



