Houthis enter war as Iran strikes disrupt shippingAFP, TEHRANYemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday announced their entry into the Middle East war by launching a ballistic missile toward Israel, as the world struggles to contain the economic damage of a conflict now entering its second month. The intervention of Iran’s Yemeni allies into Tehran’s conflict with Israel and the US would spark concern about disruption to Red Sea shipping, with trade from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz already choked off. The war began when the US and Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across Iran, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, engulfing the Middle East in conflict and triggering global economic pain by sending oil and gas prices soaring. Israeli security forces examine the site of an Iranian missile strike in Eshtaol yesterday. Saudi Arabia has diverted a large proportion of its oil exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says it has closed to shipping from hostile powers — driving up energy prices worldwide.

Source: Taipei Times March 28, 2026 17:13 UTC