trigger

The Iran-aligned Yemeni group have the ability to target key shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis say they are prepared to intervene ⁠militarily if ⁠other countries join the United States and Israel in their war against Iran, or if the Red Sea is used to launch attacks on their ally.

“We confirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention” if any new alliances join Washington and Israel against Iran and its ⁠allies, or if the Red Sea is used for “hostile operations” against Iran, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised speech on Friday.

Saree also said the Houthis were prepared to act if what he called the escalation against Iran and the “axis of resistance” continued, ‌but did not say what form any intervention would take.

The warning raises the prospect of a broader regional war, particularly given the Houthis’ ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula.

The Yemeni rebel group has controlled the capital Sanaa and much of the country’s northwest since 2014.

After Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis targeted vessels in the Red Sea and carried out drone and missile attacks against Israel, saying that they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians under fire in Gaza.

Israel and the US have regularly struck the war-torn country, targeting civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and the main international airport, while killing dozens at a time.

But in May, the Houthis and the US agreed to a truce, which included a Houthi agreement to stop attacks on US shipping in the Red Sea.

The group later stopped attacks on Israel and Israeli-linked shipping after the October Gaza ceasefire deal.

In his speech on Friday, Saree also said the group would not allow the Red Sea to be used to carry out “hostile operations” against Iran or any Muslim country.

He ⁠warned against any further tightening of what he described as “the blockade on Yemen”.

Saree called for an immediate halt to ⁠US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the Palestinian territory, Lebanon and Iraq.

“We affirm that our fingers are on the trigger.” The Houthis have warned that they are ready for direct military intervention in the US-Israeli war on Iran, laying out the conditions that could prompt their involvement.

First came the energy shock. Now, the Iran war is hitting something even more basic: Food.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, vessels are being rerouted and supply chains are under strain.

The disruption is pushing up the costs of almost everything from factories to supermarket shelves thousands of miles away.

The longer the Iran conflict continues, the greater the pressure on businesses and consumers worldwide.

The United Nations warns that rising food, oil and shipping costs could push an additional 45 million people into acute hunger – taking the global total above its record of 319 million.

All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz.

The longer it remains closed, the greater the damage to the global economy.

Iran continues to block tankers from shipping close to 20 percent of the world’s oil supply.

That is roughly twice the disruption the world suffered during the energy shock of the 1970s.

Big oil shocks have historically led to considerable economic turmoil, high inflation, stagnation and recession.

Oil and gas prices are already surging, and economies are expected to slow.

From American consumers to Chinese factories and European households, people across the world are already feeling the effect.