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Yemen
Nation / PlaceYE

Yemen

Arabian Peninsula state divided since 2014; Houthi-controlled north controls the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Yemen returned to the centre of the Iran war on 28 March 2026, when Ansar Allah, the Houthis controlling the country's north, fired ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time, opening a second front at the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint.

Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

The world's worst humanitarian crisis sits on the world's second most important oil chokepoint. Now Ansar Allah is firing at Israel.

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Background

Yemen is the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula and has been divided since Ansar Allah, the Houthi movement, seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. A Saudi-led Coalition intervened in 2015, and the resulting civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and produced what aid agencies describe as the world's worst humanitarian crisis; OCHA has run contingency operations across Yemen alongside Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and Syria throughout the 2026 regional war. A fragile Ceasefire since 2022 has let Ansar Allah consolidate control of the north, while the internationally recognised government, the Presidential Leadership Council, governs from the southern port city of Aden.

Yemen's enduring strategic weight comes from its geography rather than its economy: the country controls the eastern shore of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, through which roughly 10 per cent of global trade and 4.5 million barrels of oil pass every day. Ansar Allah's 2023-25 campaign against Red Sea shipping halved traffic through the strait and triggered the largest naval escort operation since the Cold War, a demonstration of how a materially poor and internally divided state can still hold a share of world trade at risk. Ansar Allah confirmed that reach directly against Israel on 28 March 2026, firing Ballistic Missiles for the first time since the war began.

Key Issues
Red Sea front

Yemen opened a second war front

Yemen returned to the centre of the Iran conflict on 28 March when Ansar Allah, the Houthi movement controlling the north, fired Ballistic Missiles at Israel for the first time since the war began, ending a month of self-imposed restraint.

Ansar Allah escalated again on 8 June, declaring a complete ban on Israeli maritime navigation through the Red Sea and striking the Jaffa area, its first hit on Israeli territory since an earlier ceasefire. The two moves turned Yemen's Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint into a second maritime front running alongside the Strait of Hormuz, doubling the routes global shipping must avoid.

Common Questions

Reference

What is the Bab al-Mandeb strait and why does it matter?
Bab al-Mandeb is a narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 10% of global trade and 4.5 million barrels of oil pass through it daily. Yemen controls the eastern shore; a Houthi closure compounds any Strait of Hormuz disruption by threatening two of the world's three critical oil chokepoints simultaneously.Source: Lowdown
Where is Yemen?
The southernmost country on the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman. Its western coast faces the Red Sea; the Bab al-Mandeb strait separates it from Djibouti and the Horn of Africa.
What was hit in the Sanaa airport strike?
Ansar Allah says a Saudi strike on Sanaa International Airport around 20 July 2026 targeted an Iranian aircraft carrying Houthi leadership home from Ali Khamenei's funeral; the group cited the strike as one trigger for its own embargo on Saudi shipping.Source: Lowdown reporting
Why did Saudi Arabia blockade Yemeni ports?
By 20 July 2026 Saudi Arabia had imposed a blockade on Yemeni ports and struck Sanaa International Airport, an attack the Houthis say targeted an Iranian aircraft carrying their leadership home from Ali Khamenei's funeral.Source: Lowdown reporting
Which Yemeni government represents Yemen internationally?
The internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council, chaired by Rashad al-Alimi and based in Aden, holds Yemen's seat at bodies like CENTCOM's regional dialogues, not the Houthi-controlled administration in Sanaa.Source: Lowdown
Why are the Houthis attacking Israel?
Ansar Allah frames its attacks on Israel as solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and alignment with Iran's axis of resistance. The movement fired on Israel from 28 March 2026 after a month of restraint, and declared a full Red Sea ban on Israeli maritime traffic on 8 June 2026 following the Islamabad memorandum.Source: Lowdown
What happened between Saudi Arabia and the UAE at Mukalla?
On 29 December 2025, Saudi Arabia struck a UAE weapons convoy at Mukalla port in Yemen's Hadhramaut Governorate, the first kinetic exchange between nominal GCC allies in the bloc's history. The episode contributed to the UAE's formal exit from OPEC in May 2026.Source: Lowdown
Who controls Yemen in 2026?
Ansar Allah (the Houthis) controls Sanaa and most of northern and western Yemen since 2014. A Saudi-led Coalition and the internationally recognised government hold parts of the south, though the Ceasefire since 2022 has Left Ansar Allah as the dominant military force across the country.Source: Lowdown
Is Yemen still at war in 2026?
Yes. Despite a Ceasefire since 2022, Ansar Allah (the Houthis) continued Red Sea attacks and re-entered the 2026 Iran-Israel conflict on 28 March. Saudi Arabia struck a UAE convoy in Yemeni territory in December 2025, demonstrating ongoing proxy competition.Source: editorial
Why is Yemen important in the Iran war?
Yemen's Ansar Allah movement fired Ballistic Missiles at Israel on 28 March 2026, raising the prospect of Bab al-Mandeb being closed simultaneously with Iran's Hormuz blockade. Yemen also hosts Mukalla port, where Saudi Arabia struck a UAE convoy in December 2025.Source: editorial
How bad is the humanitarian crisis in Yemen?
Yemen's civil war since 2015 has killed hundreds of thousands and produced what humanitarian agencies describe as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. OCHA is running simultaneous contingency operations across Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria simultaneously, with Yemen as the baseline worst case.Source: Lowdown
What happened to the Southern Transitional Council in Yemen?
The UAE-backed STC seized Aden and most of southern Yemen in a December 2025 offensive, then lost it within weeks to Saudi-backed government forces, who retook Aden by 7 January 2026 and removed STC ministers from the Presidential Leadership Council.Source: Lowdown
Bab al-Mandeb vs Strait of Hormuz?
Both are critical oil chokepoints. Hormuz (controlled by Iran) handles 21% of global oil. Bab al-Mandeb (threatened by Yemen's Ansar Allah) handles 10% of global trade. In March 2026, both are under simultaneous threat for the first time.
How many people died in the Yemen war?
The UN estimated over 377,000 deaths by end of 2021, the majority from indirect causes — famine, disease, and collapsed healthcare. Casualties continued after the 2022 Ceasefire at a lower level.Source: UN OCHA
Source Material
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