The Iranian-backed Houthis have been escalating attacks and rhetoric against Saudi Arabia throughout July, leading to concerns that international shipping via the Red Sea could be disrupted.
Reports in Yemen suggest that the Houthis downed a Turkish-made Saudi Arabian drone over the country. The Houthis have downed drones in the past, notably the US General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, an indication that the Houthis won’t back down. However, a reduction in US-Iran tensions could lead to a reduction in Yemen tensions.
The conflict in Yemen is complex, and it recently increased when Saudi Arabia and the government in Yemen opposed Iran flying to Sanaa, the Houthi capital. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing the airport. The Houthis then said that if the Saudis continued their blockade on the Houthis, the Houthis would enact a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that “top shipping insurers have told brokers that they will not sell war cargo insurance to Saudi Arabia-linked ships in the Red Sea, following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, in a further risk to oil exports from the region.”
This report added that “several of the leading marine war insurers at Lloyd’s of London Market said on Friday that they would exclude vessels with any ‘Saudi touchpoints’ from coverage, two brokers said, including ships traveling under other flags that have made past calls at Saudi ports.”
Houthis claim attacks on Saudi Arabia
The Houthis have claimed attacks in the last few days on Yanbu and Jizan areas in Saudi Arabia. These are key port facilities for Riyadh.
How did we get here? The Iranian-backed Houthis have transformed over the past two decades from a relatively isolated movement in northern Yemen into one of the most powerful armed groups in the Middle East.
Emerging from Yemen’s Zaidi Shi’ite community, the Houthis fought the Yemeni government during the 2000s before seizing Sanaa in 2014. Their advance eventually forced the internationally recognized government from the capital.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015, at the head of an Arab coalition seeking to prevent a complete Houthi takeover. What followed was years of grinding conflict.
UN-brokered 2022 truce reduces fighting between Houthis, Saudi Arabia
During this period, Iran increased its support for the Houthis, providing technology and expertise that helped the group develop an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones. These weapons enabled the Houthis to threaten Saudi cities, energy infrastructure, and shipping far beyond Yemen.
A UN-brokered truce in 2022 significantly reduced fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government. Although the formal truce expired, a de facto ceasefire largely held, and Riyadh pursued negotiations aimed at extricating itself from the conflict.
Then came the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Houthis claimed that this had changed the equation and they would support Hamas and Gaza in the war. They sought to increasingly position themselves as a key member of Iran’s regional axis and began launching missiles and drones toward Israel.
The Houthis also targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks were linked to Israel or were carried out in support of Gaza. These attacks ended with the US-backed ceasefire in October 2025.
It remains to be seen whether the Saudi-Houthi conflict will now grow or if it may be reduced in the coming weeks.