Houthi attacks could trigger regional war

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched fresh attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, while the U.S. carried out strikes against targets in Iraq, amid fears that the war in the Gaza Strip could engulf the Middle East.

The U.S. military carried out retaliatory strikes against three installations in Iraq linked to Kataib Hezbollah on Monday, the Pentagon announced, after three American service personnel were injured in a one-way drone attack carried out by the Iran-aligned militant group.

Tensions continued to stoke in the Red Sea. On Tuesday, Houthi militants, also backed by Iran, launched a fresh drone attack against a container ship operated by MSC that was heading for Pakistan.

Drone and missile attacks by the militant group in recent weeks have upended shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, a narrow waterway through which some 10% of the world’s trade sails.

Analysts have previously warned of the risk of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading into the broader Middle East, amid hostilities from Iranian-backed groups such as Hezbollah, Houthi and Bashar Assad’s Syrian administration.