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Houthi Blitz Changes the Calculus in the US-Israeli War on Iran
MIDDLE EAST
On Sept. 8, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a lightning assault on oil facilities in southern Saudi Arabia while simultaneously mounting a ground offensive against Riyadh-backed forces in their divided country.
Almost no one saw the offensive coming.
“The Saudis were caught off guard,” Yemeni political analyst Farea Al-Muslimi told Reuters. For Iran, he added, it’s a “win-win.”
Still, the Houthis had been threatening to escalate their campaign in defense of Iran since the US-Israel war on Iran broke out in late February. Now, the escalation of fighting in the region has dramatically expanded the fallout from the war by emboldening Iran, threatening another key shipping route via the Red Sea and opening a new front in the war by bringing Washington-backed Saudi Arab…
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