Six people died Tuesday when Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles at a commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, marking the first known deadly strike on shipping in Yemen's latest escalation. Yemen's coast guard said the dead included four crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. The Transportation Ministry of Yemen's internationally recognized government said the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the Yemeni vessel.
The attack comes as the Houthis have intensified operations against government forces across Yemen and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which backs the Yemeni government. The Yemeni military said dozens of government troops and civilians have been killed in attacks since last week, including strikes on the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea.
Shipping Routes and Economic Pressure
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down by Iran, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb strait at Yemen's southern tip have become critical alternate routes for Saudi Arabia to ship its oil. Iran closed the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28. Before the closure, roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil supplies passed through the waterway. Uncertainty around its future has kept energy prices a major focus of U.S. politics ahead of November's midterm elections.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' chief negotiator and spokesperson, accused Saudi Arabia in a social media post of exploiting the ceasefire to tighten an air and sea blockade it imposed 11 years ago. He said the Houthis are open for negotiations but any settlement must include lifting the blockade.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. Navy's blockade is preventing Iran from selling its oil on the international market, effectively choking the Iranian economy. "Yeah, they can make trouble," Trump said in an Oval Office exchange with reporters, "but they're broke."
Diplomatic Efforts Continue
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the country had "astonished the whole world" in the war against the United States and Israel, proving "that it is a tough and invincible power." Iran has refused to back down on demands that the U.S. end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic and fulfill other conditions before Tehran will consider reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled Tuesday to Tehran for talks aimed at encouraging Iran to resume negotiations with the United States under an interim peace deal brokered by Pakistan in June, two officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media and they provided no further details. Pakistan's government had not publicly announced Naqvi's visit. It's his sixth trip to Iran as part of Pakistan's diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the U.S.
Syria's Reckoning
In Syria, a court sentenced former President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria's 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead. Assad and his brother Maher, who fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2024, were sentenced in absentia at the Fourth Criminal Court in the Syrian capital.
Why This Matters:
The deadly Houthi attack on commercial shipping reveals how Yemen's civil war continues to exact a mounting civilian toll while threatening critical global trade routes. With the Strait of Hormuz closed and the Red Sea now a conflict zone, the world's energy supply faces unprecedented vulnerability. The escalating violence in Yemen — where dozens of troops and civilians have died in recent days — underscores the human cost of a proxy war that has dragged on for more than a decade under a Saudi blockade imposed 11 years ago. Pakistan's sixth diplomatic mission to Tehran signals that a negotiated path exists, but Iran's refusal to reopen the strait without sanctions relief and the U.S. blockade's chokehold on Iran's economy suggest both sides remain far from compromise. The civilian casualties in Yemen and the half-million dead in Syria's conflict serve as reminders of what happens when diplomatic solutions fail and proxy wars become permanent.