Saudi-Houthi Conflict Risks Opening New Front in US-Iran War

JAKARTA - The return of fighting between Tehran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia risks opening a new front in the US-Iran conflict, which could have serious implications for the global economy.

Reviewed by CNN, Monday, July 27, earlier this month, the Houthi group accused Saudi Arabia of attacking the airport in Sanaa - the capital of Yemen controlled by the Houthis - to prevent the landing of a plane carrying a delegation of important Houthis.

The delegation had just returned from the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government said its own forces carried out the attack.

The flight was a Houthi effort to break years-long restrictions on air access to Sanaa by reopening direct flights to Tehran for the first time since the Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015.

It reflects a broader aspect of Tehran's evolving strategy.

"The increasingly coordinated use of the 'Axis of Resistance' (* Axis of Resistance *) to turn the times of confrontation into an opportunity to consolidate achievements, change the reality on the ground, and strengthen Iran's regional bargaining power," wrote experts on Yemen, Nadwa Al-Dawsari and Arman Mahmoudian, on Monday, July 27, for the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC.

This development marks a dangerous escalation, given that the Houthi group has largely adhered to an informal ceasefire with Saudi Arabia over the past few years.

Following the attack, the Houthis declared the end of the period of tension and announced a "blockade" on ships associated with Saudi Arabia that crossed the Bab al-Mandab Strait - a route that has become increasingly important for the kingdom's oil exports after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

They then claimed to have hit two Saudi-owned tankers.

Saudi Arabia admitted that at least one ship was hit by the attack and retaliated with airstrikes against Houthi targets in Hodeidah, the location of the main port under Houthi control.

On Monday, NASA satellite imagery showed a plume of black smoke billowing from around the Jazan oil refinery on the coast of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea and stretching some 200 kilometers. This happened a day after the Houthis claimed to have attacked the facility.

The conflict threatens shipping traffic in Bab al-Mandab - a vital artery for global trade and energy supplies - potentially triggering a rise in oil prices, transport costs, and inflation around the world.