By Menna Alaaeldin, Nayera Abdallah and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.
Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched missiles at Israel, their first such attack since the Iran war began, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US expected to conclude military operations within weeks.
The Houthis, whose involvement risks broadening and prolonging a war that has entered its fifth week, said their operations would continue until the “aggression” on all fronts ended. Israel said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen.
Launched with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February 28, the war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies, hitting the global economy and fuelling inflation fears.
Houthis can strike targets far from Yemen
On Friday, the Houthis had said they were prepared to act, if what the group called an escalation against Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” continued in the war.
The group has shown an ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen, and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in Gaza after 7 October, 2023.
If the Houthis open a new front in the conflict, one obvious target would be the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, a key shipping chokepoint that controls sea traffic towards the Suez Canal, after Iran effectively shut the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on Friday, before the Houthi attack, Rubio said Washington was “on or ahead of schedule”, and expected to conclude military operations in “weeks, not months”.
He also told Group of Seven counterparts in France that European and Asian countries that benefit from trade through the Strait of Hormuz – a conduit for a fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies – should contribute to efforts to secure free passage.
The war has driven a wedge between the US and its traditional allies, who have stayed on the sidelines. President Donald Trump said this lack of support had implications for NATO, the West’s most important alliance.
“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Trump told an investment forum in Miami. “Why would we be there for them, if they’re not there for us?
“They weren’t there for us.”
The charter underlying the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has long been led by the US, says an attack on one member is an attack on all, requiring them to support each other.
Rubio said the US could achieve its aims without ground troops, but acknowledged it was deploying some to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge”.
Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first due to arrive in coming days on a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.
The deployments have raised concerns that the war could turn into a prolonged ground battle.
More strikes, while Trump speaks of negotiations
Stock markets tumbled sharply on Friday amid fears the conflict would drag on, while the Brent crude oil benchmark topped US$112, up more than 50 percent since the war began.
In the US, where Trump was politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit a record average high of US$7.17 a gallon, the American Automobile Association said.
Trump has appeared eager to wind down the unpopular war, emphasising what he called productive negotiations with Iran aimed at reaching a diplomatic end to the conflict.
Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have been relaying messages between the warring sides, although Tehran has repeatedly asserted that there have been no such negotiations with Washington.
Two people familiar with the back-channel efforts expressed doubt that direct talks would take place anytime soon.
On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, or face attacks against power stations and other energy infrastructure. While those strikes were on hold, the US and Israel have continued to bomb Iran.
Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel overnight, killing one, and causing several impacts in the Tel Aviv area from cluster munitions and debris from intercepted missiles.
An Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 US military personnel, two seriously, a US official told Reuters on Friday, as drones and missiles continued to strike around the Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain reported missile attacks early on Saturday, with five people injured and fires reported, after a missile was intercepted near Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port, one of the Gulf’s main deepwater container ports.
At least five people were killed and seven injured, after a US-Israeli attack on a residential unit in Iran’s northwestern city of Zanjan, Iranian media reported early on Saturday.
The Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran was also struck, media reported.
– Reuters