Bab al-Mandab Strait

Letter to the POTUS

A few hopefully helpful notes on Iran’s “Islamic Revolutionaries”

Iran-Backed Houthis Assist Resurgent Somali Pirates

The western section of the Indian Ocean, with its key trade routes and its maritime chokepoints, has faced no shortage of crises between disruptions caused by the Houthis in Yemen and their backers in...

Iran’s rulers are true believers  

That’s why they’re so difficult to deter or constrain

Iran attacks vessels in Hormuz, avoids concrete stance on ceasefire extension

After Donald Trump announced an extension of the US ceasefire with Iran on April 21, Tehran refused to take an official position on the state of the ceasefire, denied it had agreed to any extension, and...

Yemen’s Houthis enter Iran war with drone and missile attacks on Israel

The Houthis in Yemen launched several attacks against Israel today, a month into the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran. Israel announced that it intercepted the first...

Iran-Backed Houthis Launch Missile at Southern Israel

Latest Developments Houthis Join War: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile targeting the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on March 28, its first entry into the current conflict....

Trump Administration Scores Major Victory as Panama Supreme Court Rules Against Chinese Shipping Firm

The Danish shipping behemoth Maersk is now temporarily managing two ports along the Panama Canal after the Panamanian Supreme Court annulled a Chinese company’s contracts on constitutional grounds. The...

Maritime Protection of Taiwan’s Energy Vulnerability

UAE ‘likely’ building airstrip on strategic island in Red Sea

Satellite imagery reviewed by the Associated Press shows an airstrip under construction on Zuqar Island, a strategic island in the Red Sea about 55 miles south of the port of Hodeidah, which...

Houthis signal pause on attacks on Israel after Gaza ceasefire, detail attacks during the conflict

Abdulmalik al Houthi, the leader of the Iran-backed terror group that rules northern Yemen, indicated cautious acceptance of the ceasefire that Israel and Hamas agreed to on October...

Iran’s shadow looms large over the Houthi ceasefire

It’s too soon for another US “mission accomplished” in the Middle East. President Donald Trump this month announced a halt to US airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, claiming the group “capitulated” and would cease targeting American vessels and Red Sea traffic.

Houthis Pledge to Keep Targeting Israel Despite Ceasefire With U.S.

Donald Trump declared that Yemen’s Houthi rebels “have capitulated,” while a top Houthi official said Washington’s agreement to a May 6 ceasefire is “an expression of helplessness and failure.”...

President Trump announces ceasefire between US and Houthis

On May 6, US President Donald Trump announced an end to Operation Rough Rider, the US offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying the Houthis and the US had reached an agreement....

US targets Houthi military and political leaders in latest campaign

The Trump administration has targeted Houthi military and political leaders since it initiated its campaign against the Iranian-backed militia in Yemen in mid-March. This effort is a departure from the...

‘Your Time is Up’: U.S. Conducts Broad Airstrikes on Houthis, Sends Message to Iran

Latest Developments U.S. Strikes Will Continue Until Houthi Attacks Stop: The United States carried out large-scale strikes on targets controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen on March 15, announcing...

US military launches large-scale operation against Houthis in Yemen

The United States military carried out overnight strikes against Houthi military infrastructure in Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on March 15.

Houthis Attack U.S. Fighter Jet and Drone

In a close call indicating the tenuous stability of the Red Sea, the Houthis fired surface-to-air missiles at a U.S. F-16 and MQ-9 Reaper drone on February 19 but missed them both, according to reports...

Defeating the Houthis

Biden didn’t try; Trump can and should

Trump administration re-designates Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing his administration to re-designate the Houthis in Yemen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The move reverses a decision by the Biden administration...

Critical and opportune: Time to take out the Houthis

Addressing the threat may provide a critical opportunity to secure strategic alliances that could dramatically alter the future of the region.