Frank Gardner: Houthi attacks raise fears of wider Middle East conflict and more global economic damage

Image source, NASA Worldview/Reuters Image caption, Attacks launched from Yemen could disrupt the vital Bab El Mandeb Strait shipping route, further restricting global trade By Frank Gardner Security correspondent Published 10 minutes ago Yemen's Houthi fighters claim to have attacked shipping in the Red Sea - a move that threatens to further escalate the already volatile situation in the Middle East. By forcing ships to turn back from the narrow Bab El Mandeb strait, they have threatened to choke off the main maritime route from Europe to Asia. It comes as US-Iran strikes continue and while a deal to develop Saudi Arabia's nuclear industry prompts fears of an arms race. So is the Middle East becoming more dangerous? So far, 2026 is sadly proving to be one of the more violent years for parts of the Middle East. For 12 consecutive nights, US Central Command (Centcom) has carried out air strikes on Iranian coastal radar, drone and missile bases. The Gulf Arab states, in normal times a haven of low-crime tranquility and minimal taxation, are having to learn to live with constant attacks from their well-armed neighbour across the water: the Islamic Republic of Iran. And now the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have entered the fray, after a 2022 ceasefire with neighbouring Saudi Arabia appeared to have broken down. Two Saudi vessels were hit by missiles in the Red Sea this week , while the Houthis claim to have turned back 10 others after warning ships to avoid Saudi ports, disrupting shipping passing through the strategic Bab El Mandeb Strait that links the southern end of the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. This matters because, on top of the ongoing disruption to global energy and fertiliser supplies caused by Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz , it is a further obstacle to vital maritime trade that will soon impact the global economy. Saudi Arabia has been trying to distance itself from the Iran-US war and has been largely spared the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attacks that have rained down this month on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the Saudis have been able to partially mitigate the disruption to their oil exports by shipping millions of barrels a day through the East-West Pipeline that traverses the entire breadth of their huge country, from the oilfields of Eastern Province to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu' Al-Bahr. From there, they have been able to ship oil in bulk to customers in Asia using tankers that depart south, past Yemen and that Bab El Mandeb Strait, and out into the open Indian Ocean. But not anymore - at least not while the Houthis are threatening vessels that pass by their coast. US President Donald Trump has vowed to "take care of the Houthis" but that has not worked before - and without a deal, it will not work this time. The Houthis are a Shia tribal group from the far north of Yemen, based around the city of Saada. In 2014, taking advantage of the turmoil of the recent Ara