Sana'a: Yemens Houthi rebels announced their entry into the Middle East war on Saturday by launching a ballistic missile towards Israel, as the world struggled to contain the economic damage of a conflict now entering its second month.
According to France24.com, the intervention of Irans Yemeni allies in Tehrans conflict with Israel and the United States will spark concern about disruptions to Red Sea shipping, with trade from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz already choked off. With Hormuz all but impassable, many shipments to and from the region go through the Omani port of Salalah. However, Danish shipping giant Maersk reported that operations had been temporarily suspended there following a drone attack that injured one worker and damaged a crane.
Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between US and Iranian officials, is set to host foreign ministers from regional powers Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt in Islamabad on Monday for talks on the crisis. Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed gratitude to Islamabad "for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression," while Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul indicated expectations for a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon."
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism on Friday that Iran would engage in talks with Washington within a week. "It could solve it all," he stated. The war commenced when the United States and Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Iran, resulting in the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which plunged the Middle East into conflict and triggered global economic turmoil by driving oil and gas prices up.
Despite Trump's optimism that US forces have significantly weakened Irans military, no resolution to the conflict is in sight. A spokesman for the Houthis issued a video statement declaring the group's launch of ballistic missiles towards Israeli bases. The Israeli military confirmed it had "identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory, aerial defence systems are operating to intercept the threat." There were no reports of casualties or damage in Israel, and the missile was reportedly intercepted.
During the recent war in Gaza, the Houthis, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians, attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Until Saturday, they had not participated in the latest conflict, which has increased the strategic importance of the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has rerouted a significant portion of its oil exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran claims to have closed to shipping from hostile powers.
Irans military announced on Saturday that it had targeted a US logistics vessel near the Omani port of Salalah on the Arabian Sea. Oman confirmed a drone attack on the port that injured a foreign worker. Air travel has also been affected, with authorities in Kuwait and in the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan reporting damage to airport facilities from strikes.
In the United Arab Emirates, fire broke out after Iranian missiles and drones hit the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi, injuring six people. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) reported substantial damage to its facility. In Iran, production was halted at a major steel plant in the southwest following US-Israeli strikes, as stated by the Khuzestan Steel Company and reported by the Shargh newspaper.
Irans Revolutionary Guards have warned of retaliation for any economic damage by targeting industrial sites across the region, having previously issued similar warnings for US military bases and hotels hosting American troops. The Guards also reported finding and dismantling over 120 unexploded cluster bombs, alleging they were dropped during US and Israeli attacks several days ago on the southern province of Fars.
Israel announced new strikes on Tehran, and an AFP journalist in the city reported about 10 intense blasts and a plume of black smoke overnight. Pezeshkian sent a cautionary message to other countries in the region, warning: "If you want development and security, don't let our enemies run the war from your lands." An Iranian missile and drone attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday wounded at least 12 American soldiers, two seriously, according to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified officials.