From 2015 to 2025, Tehran-Riyadh ties shifted from confrontation to cautious engagement. Prince Khalid bin Salman’s visit to Tehran marks a historic step in de-escalation amid rising regional tensions. Riyadh appears intent on avoiding entanglement in a broader conflict between Iran and the West.
Reports are emerging across Yemeni and global media of an impending ground offensive against the Houthis by a conglomeration of anti-Houthi forces. These potential plans center on the west coast of Yemen, an economic center for the terrorist group.
Numerous reports have alleged the deaths of Houthi fighters of various military ranks since the Trump administration ramped up military operations in Yemen. However, while some of these claims appear credible, others require further verification.
Iran has reportedly ordered its military personnel to leave Yemen amidst the growing US bombing campaign. The move reflects a broader pattern of the Islamic Republic recalibrating its regional strategy in response to the Trump administration’s moves to curtail Tehran’s influence in the Middle East and threats to potentially strike Iran’s nuclear sites.
The Houthis detained at least 75 civilians over concerns that they are providing support to the ongoing US airstrike campaign in Yemen. The Houthis regularly conduct arbitrary detentions, but the total marks a rapid increase since the onset of US strikes.
In the almost two weeks since the US began its large-scale operation against the Houthis, airstrikes have rocked Houthi-controlled northern Yemen. While the Yemeni terrorist group is trying to control information released about the damage, various sources have identified key governorates and important infrastructure hit by US strikes.
The US has continued striking the Houthis in Yemen, hitting targets across territory controlled by the group, including military sites, infrastructure, and personnel. The Houthis have unsuccessfully attempted to target US naval assets in response.
The strikes against the Houthis, who have targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, are the first military actions taken against the Iranian-backed militia by the Trump administration since it took office. The US re-added the Iranian-backed militia to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations 10 days ago.
Following the Houthis’ cessation of Red Sea attacks in January 2025, the group has engaged in more military activity against Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Houthi attacks in front-line provinces have reached levels not seen since before October 2023.
The Biden administration removed the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2021 and didn’t re-list the group despite over 15 months of missile and drone attacks on US naval forces, international shipping, and Israel. The Trump administration ordered re-listing the Houthis after two days in office.
A recent declaration by the League of Arab States chastising Iran for “inciting strife among the Syrian people” and the weakened positions of or hedging by Tehran’s regional proxies signal Iran’s diminishing influence.
The Israeli Air Force carried out retaliatory strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on December 19, following a Houthi missile attack targeting the Tel Aviv area on December 19 and also another attack on December 16. The IDF intercepted both threats, though debris on December 19 fell on a school near Tel Aviv. Israel’s strikes in Yemen targeted ports and energy infrastructure.
The Houthis in Yemen have an extensive leadership hierarchy. FDD’s Long War Journal lists some of the leaders of the organization, their roles, and if they have been sanctioned by the United States government.
As soon as the Islamic Republic of Iran was established, it effectively declared war on Israel and the West. International appeasement of Iran has failed, and the current crisis in the Middle East has clarified that a more forceful Western policy is required now to forestall a more dangerous confrontation a few years later.
In response to the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv yesterday, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Hudeydah, Yemen.
Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for launching a long-range UAV that killed one person and injured at least 10 others in Tel Aviv on Friday morning.
A recent Islamic State (IS) attack in Oman, coupled with the group’s growing capacity in Iraq and Syria, suggests that IS strongholds across the Middle East present a threat as formidable as its Asian branch.
The recent article, penned by the now believed deceased son of al Qaeda leader Sayf al-Adl, clearly demonstrates al-Qaeda’s strategic vision and continued threat.
Escalating attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi on ships highlights the challenges in deterring their aggression and the need to safeguard maritime security in the Red Sea.
Tehran is threatening new attacks in the Middle East after the April 1 Israeli airstrike in Damascus that killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander responsible for smuggling weapons to Lebanon. Analysis of Iranian-backed attacks and U.S. responses in recent months makes clear that a U.S. failure to hit back hard will simply invite more Iranian attacks and risk more American casualties.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced the sudden death of its previous emir, Khalid al-Batarfi, and named Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki as his successor. The cause of Batarfi’s death is unknown.
Bill and Behnam discuss reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia and the potential for subsequent U.S. sanctions on Tehran (and why that’d be insufficient); why the head of the IRGC Quds Force allegedly paid a recent visit to Iraq; an update on the Houthi-Gulf of Aden-Bab al Mandeb-Red Sea theater, including a new underwater drone threat and why if we happen to see the Iranians “de-escalate” in one theater it’s because they’re preparing to escalate in another (and not because they’ve been “deterred”).
Despite the incessant attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis and Iranian proxy militias in Iraq and Syria, the Biden administration continues to insist it is not at war with Iran.
The Houthis targeted the USS Carney, struck a British petroleum tanker, and forced two merchant marine vessels to turn away from the Bab Al Mandeb Strait.
Bill and Joe catch up on the latest news from the Middle East, including U.S. pressure on Israel (led by Secretary of State Blinken) to come to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza while the U.S. also considers withdrawing its own troops from Syria; Israeli casualties in Gaza (including suffering the recent historic loss of 24 IDF reservists); Israeli strikes inside Lebanon; and, yes, more Houthi drama.
The U.S. and U.K., backed by just four other countries, renewed attacks on Houthi military targets. The paucity of countries willing to confront the Houthis, and thus Iran, highlights the difficulty the Biden administration has had in assembling an international coalition to restore calm to the vital shipping lanes.
The attacks against Houthi missiles are no longer being conducted under the aegis of an international coalition, but directly by the U.S. military.
As the Houthis defy the international coalition thatis struggling to keep the Red Sea open to commercial shipping, the Iranians launched a ballistic missile strike on what it claimed was Israeli intelligence assets in Irbil, Iraq.
The Houthis have launched three strikes, including one against a U.S. warship, since the U.S. and U.K. attacked Houthi military targets on Jan. 11 in an effort to restore deterrence. The Houthis have not been deterred.
Bill and Behnam unpack the details they’ve been able to gather so far surrounding the U.S. and UK-led coalition strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen and discuss whether this will restore deterrence. Accurate preview courtesy of Behnam: “We like to say ‘freaky Fridays’ here [we do not] — it can’t get freakier than the first-ever, historic use of force since October 7 by the U.S. and UK against the Houthis.”