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Yemen's Houthis held a public funeral on Sept. 1 for assassinated Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Aug. 28, AP has reported. The same day, the Houthis attacked an oil tanker transiting the Red Sea, which they claimed was linked to Israel.

Yemen, Israel: Houthis Hold Funeral for Assassinated Prime Minister, Attack Tanker in Red Sea

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Israel Defense Forces attacks on Yemen's capital Sanaa and other cities likely killed Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, The Times of Israel reported Aug. 29. Several other senior Houthi commanders were also reportedly killed in the attacks, which appeared to be separate from strikes a day earlier on the outskirts of Sanaa, which the IDF said targeted Houthi ministers.

Israel, Yemen: Israeli Strikes Likely Kill Houthi Prime Minister

Israel struck Sanaa, Yemen, hitting two power plants and the compound that hosts the presidential palace, just two days after Yemen's Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile carrying its first cluster munition against Israel, The Times of Israel reported on Aug. 24. 

Israel, Yemen: Israel Retaliates Against Houthis' First Use of Cluster Munitions

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A Houthi spokesperson announced that the Yemeni militant group would target any vessel affiliated with companies conducting business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality or destination, Reuters reported July 27.

Yemen: Houthis Threaten to Target Vessels Affiliated with Companies Doing Business with Israeli Ports

A Houthi spokesperson claimed responsibility for a July 6 maritime attack on a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, marking the first maritime attack against commercial vessels that the Houthis conducted since December 2024, AP reported July 7.

Yemen: Houthis Claim Maritime Strike as Clashes with Israel Persist

For the first time, the Israeli navy used missile ships to attack Yemen's Houthi-controlled port of al-Hudaydah, marking the navy's farthest known operation, Al Jazeera reported on June 10.

Israel, Yemen: Israeli Navy Attacks Houthi Port, Israel Threatens Air and Naval Blockade

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U.S. President Donald Trump signed a ban barring citizens from 12 countries from traveling to the United States, with the order set to take effect on June 9, The New York Times reported on June 4.

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

A Houthi spokesperson announced a "maritime blockade" on Israel's southern port of Haifa, Reuters reported on May 19. 

Yemen, Israel: Houthis Announce 'Maritime Blockade' on Haifa

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An Iranian flag is draped from a building damaged during a recent attack by Israel is seen in the Gisha neighborhood of Tehran, Iran, on June 25, 2025. 

The brief war with Israel has significantly weakened Iran's regional influence and military capabilities, forcing it and the members of its Axis of Resistance to recalibrate their strategies and focus on recovery.

The Impact of the 12-Day War on Iran and Its Allies, Part 1

Assessments

An aerial depiction of Iran's Zagros Mountains and the Strait of Hormuz.

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Israel is growing increasingly likely to strike Iran's nuclear program as U.S.-Iran talks struggle to progress, potentially setting off a cycle of regional escalation that alters Iran's political landscape.

As U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Flounder, Israel Inches Toward Escalation

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U.S. President Donald Trump (right) interacts with Oman Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Asaad (second from right) as they prepare to pose for photos with leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Leaders' Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025.

Energy

Despite Trump's recent sharp words on his predecessor's "forever wars," U.S. trade and energy interests will keep him engaged in the region, though in ways that rely more on economic and diplomatic leverage, as opposed to military campaigns.

Is the Era of U.S. Interventionism in the Middle East Over?

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B aircraft over the North Sea having taken off from RAF Fairford on July 1, 2016 in Gloucestershire, England. The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

Washington Bumps up Against the Limits of Airpower in the Middle East

Yemeni soldiers stand guard during a protest against the United States on April 18, 2025 in Sanaa, Yemen. 

As intensified U.S. airstrikes fail to halt Houthi attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping, Washington is increasingly likely to seek on-the-ground Yemeni partners to pressure the militant movement.


In Yemen, the U.S.'s Anti-Houthi Campaign Raises the Specter of a Government Ground Offensive

Mock drones and missiles are displayed at an exhibition on Nov. 13, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen. 

Recent actions by Iran and its Iraqi proxies appear designed to appease the U.S. as the Trump administration weighs taking aggressive military action against them both.

To Placate the U.S., Iran Temporarily Scales Back Its Regional Proxy Strategy

Oman

A rally on Jan. 24 in Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen. Should the United States attack Iranian ships and advisers supporting the Houthi rebel group, Houthi and Iranian retaliation would become likelier to extend beyond U.S. and Israeli targets to include regional oil and gas installations.

Should the United States also attack Iranian ships and advisers supporting the Yemeni rebel group, Houthi and Iranian retaliation would become likelier to extend beyond U.S. and Israeli targets to include regional oil and gas installations. 

U.S. Strikes on Houthis Risk Embroiling Iran and the Regional Energy Industry

Supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement brandish weapons and chant slogans as they take part in a protest staged in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza on Jan. 17, 2025, in Sanaa, Yemen. 

The Houthis' intervention in the Israel-Hamas war has bolstered their military capabilities and domestic influence, which could embolden them to launch renewed offensives in southern Yemen.

What Will Yemen's Houthis Do With Their New-Found Strength?

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Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

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A smoke plume rises above destroyed buildings in northern Gaza on Jan. 13, 2025.

The truce will improve Israel's ties with Lebanon and Egypt, but eventual violations could reignite regional tensions, as could Israel's intensified counter-insurgency operations in the West Bank.

The Regional Implications of the Gaza Ceasefire

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RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2025 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2025

A billboard depicting a Houthi military official who was killed during Yemen's civil war overlooks the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa on Jan. 2, 2025. 

When its increased attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen likely fail to deter the militants, Israel will escalate further, potentially spreading the conflict into the Gulf states and restarting the Yemeni civil war.

Israel's Expanding Campaign in Yemen Risks Reigniting the Civil War

Yemen is located on the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, across from the Horn of Africa. With Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east, Yemen’s land borders are largely isolated by the Empty Quarter, a vast, uninhabited desert that stretches through the region. Across the Red Sea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia are linked to Yemen by trade, religion and culture. From its vantage point on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Yemen overlooks one of the world’s biggest trade routes.     Yemen has three geographic regions: the northern and western highlands, anchored by the capital Sanaa; the southern coastal harbors around Aden; and the eastern desert of the Hadramawt. For most of its history, the country’s civilization centered on the highlands, where enough rain falls to sustain agriculture. Because they lack oil and mineral resources, Yemen’s highlands are dependent on these farmlands.     Meanwhile coastal harbor cities like Aden survived off trade and piracy, while the desert interior developed a Bedouin trading and raiding culture that siphoned wealth from the two nearby regions. Dwindling water supplies threaten this balance, however, as skyrocketing populations and shifting agricultural practices strain the demographic sustainability of the highlands.     Nearly 20 million of Yemen’s 26.8 million people live in or near the highlands, which envelop and isolate Sanaa. So for outside powers, ports along the Red Sea trade routes of the south tend to make for better targets than the Yemeni capital. Throughout history, states from Rome to Great Britain have tried to capture Aden and its environs. The vulnerability of the city and its southern surroundings to foreign influence and meddling has repeatedly opened rifts between Yemen’s north and south. During these times of tension, the Hadramawt east often slips from the grasp of the central government.     Yemen’s geographic challenges, then, are threefold. First, the country must ward off foreign encroachment on its exposed southern flank. Second, it must find a way to manage its increasingly scarce resources. And third, Sanaa must keep the Hadramawt &mdash; known for its ability to threaten national unity &mdash; under tight control. 

The Yemen Civil War

SITUATION REPORTS

Yemen, Israel: Houthis Hold Funeral for Assassinated Prime Minister, Attack Tanker in Red Sea

Israel, Yemen: Israeli Strikes Likely Kill Houthi Prime Minister

Israel, Yemen: Israel Retaliates Against Houthis' First Use of Cluster Munitions

Yemen: Houthis Threaten to Target Vessels Affiliated with Companies Doing Business with Israeli Ports

Yemen: Houthis Claim Maritime Strike as Clashes with Israel Persist

Israel, Yemen: Israeli Navy Attacks Houthi Port, Israel Threatens Air and Naval Blockade

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Yemen, Israel: Houthis Announce 'Maritime Blockade' on Haifa

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