• The International Energy Agency projects that global oil production will drop by 4.3 million barrels per day this year due to disruptions in Bab al-Mandeb.

X suspends account of Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree

The X account belonging to Yahya Saree, the spokesman for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group, has been suspended.

It remains unclear why the profile, which had 121.5k followers, was taken down. A notice on the account reads “Account Suspended”, accompanied by a message stating that “X suspends accounts that violate Our Rules”.

Saree’s page served as a primary outlet for announcing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, as well as strikes against Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-backed government.

US strikes in Yemen killed 153 civilians in 2025, says Pentagon review

US military strikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis killed 153 civilians last year and wounded another 243, according to a Pentagon assessment of the attacks.

The numbers were disclosed by a US official on Tuesday, citing the review, which found that all of the civilian deaths and injuries recorded by the US military in 2025 came from three strikes in Yemen in April.

The unclassified assessment was sent to Congress as part of the Pentagon’s annual report on civilian casualties. It was obtained by AP after NBC News reported it earlier.

Yemeni forces thwart Iran-backed Houthi attack amid escalation

Yemeni government forces have thwarted an attack by the Houthis on positions along the al‑Mafalis front, south of Haifan, in the southeastern part of Taiz province, as military escalation spikes in several governorates.

An official of the Tor al‑Bahah military axis, which is affiliated with government forces, on Thursday said the army’s 4th Infantry Hashd Brigade repelled a Houthi attack on positions on the al‑Mafalis front, adding that “the terrorist Houthi militias suffered heavy losses.”

Houthis launch drone strike on Aramco refinery in Saudi city of Jizan

Yemen’s Houthi group has targeted an Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan region with two drones, a military source was cited as saying by Saba news agency.

The source told the agency that this attack comes in response to the kingdom’s “violation of Yemeni airspace and sovereignty in the Sa’dah and Hajjah governorates”.

Yemen at highest risk of major conflict since 2022 truce, warns UN envoy

Yemen faces its most serious threat of a return to large-scale war since the UN-brokered truce in 2022 – with UN envoy Hans Grundberg warning that more than half the population do not have enough food to eat.

His comments follow the escalation in hostilities between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government. The fighting has raised fears of a return to all-out war and increased regional tensions.

Grundberg told the UNSC that military activity had intensified along Yemen’s frontlines. Recent Houthi attacks in the regions of Marib, Hadramout, Al-Makha and elsewhere had caused military and civilian casualties, he said.

Renewed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden risked drawing Yemen further into wider regional confrontation, he warned, as regional trade and energy flows were already under pressure from the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, where control is contested in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Houthi missiles target Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab strait

Yemen’s Houthi group has targeted the Bab al-Mandab strait area in the western part of the country with two missiles, the Houthi-affiliated Saba TV channel is reporting, citing a local source.

Saudi crown prince, US CENTCOM chief hold meeting

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has discussed mutual defence cooperation and efforts to de-escalate regional tensions with Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), according to the Saudi state-run news agency.

As we reported earlier, Saudi Arabia on Thursday hosted the third planning session for its newly announced maritime defence coalition, aimed at protecting movement through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

UK condemns ‘reckless Houthi actions’ at UNSC

The UK’s permanent representative at the United Nations, Sarah MacIntosh, has called on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels to de-escalate, saying that “the Security Council is united in its condemnation” of the group.

The diplomat told the UN Security Council that “reckless Houthi actions have triggered a serious escalation of violence in the region”, urging “the Houthis to focus on efforts to achieve peace and alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, rather than seeking to embroil Yemen in a wider regional conflict”.