Yemen envoy warns of wider war as Houthis threaten Bab al-Mandeb Strait

The war in Yemen is threatening to open a new front as the Iran-allied Houthi rebels are trying to advance along the Red Sea coast, through the mountain chains of Taiz province, edging closer to strategic ground that overlooks one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries.For the internationally recognised Yemeni government, this is an offensive with global consequences.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US increases pressure on Iran with sanctions targeting aviation sectorlist 2 of 3Yemen’s Saudi-backed forces strike Houthis on western coastlist 3 of 3Yemen war escalates: Who are the key actors involved?end of listIn Wednesday’s interview with Al Jazeera, Yemen’s Ambassador to Qatar, Rajeh Badi, a former government spokesman, said that his government and its armed forces had not violated any truce since 2021.The Houthis, he argued, are “the aggressors”. “What we are seeing now is a surprise Houthi offensive to seize strategic ground along the Red Sea, in order to allow Iran, through its Houthi proxy, to tighten its grip on maritime routes,” Badi said.He added that the Houthis, who have advanced on al-Makha (Mocha) and al-Waziyah, and over large stretches of the mounta...