Clashes between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and government forces in Yemen raged overnight and into Thursday, raising fears that the country’s civil war could reignite and open another front in the Middle East.
Here鈥檚 a look at the latest developments in the and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found .
Yemeni soldier killed in clashes with Houthis
At least one government soldier was killed and another critically wounded in clashes with the Houthis in the mountainous province of Taiz, Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.
The fighting came as part of a on government-held areas across the country. Dozens of government troops have been killed since last week, the Yemeni military said.
The Houthis also said they launched another drone attack on an Aramco oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials did not immediately comment on the reported attack in the city of Jazan. Last weekend, the Houthis fired drones at the refinery, where the Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire but no casualties.
The conflict dates back to 2014, when the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year on the side of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Last month, the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, in the region.
Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing Thursday that Yemen is at greater risk of returning to large-scale conflict than at any time since a 2022 truce paused the fighting.
Yemen faces 鈥渃atastrophe鈥� from rising hunger and from health services crumbling amid the fighting, said U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. He said 6 million people in Yemen face emergency levels of food insecurity bordering on famine, 鈥渢he highest number globally.鈥�
Peace laureate calls for UN pressure to resolve Yemen conflict
Yemen鈥檚 Nobel peace laureate Tawakkol Karman said Thursday at the United Nations that Houthi rebels bear the primary responsibility for the 鈥渃ollapse of the state鈥� in her home country.
But the human rights campaigner also blamed Iran for backing the Houthis, Saudi Arabia for its intervention on behalf of the government ousted by the Houthis, the United Arab Emirates for its involvement in the conflict and the international community for its failure to do enough to protect civilians.
Karman had been invited to brief the U.N. Security Council as an independent civil society voice on Yemen, but was blocked from speaking because of 鈥渟trong opposition,鈥� Danish Deputy Ambassador Sandra Jensen Landi said. Instead, Karman spoke to reporters outside the council chamber.
Iran and Oman working to clean oil spills off their coasts
Oil spills spreading off the coasts of Iran and Oman are raising concerns about environmental damage as oil shipments have come under fire in the Iran war.
Iran said Thursday it’s working to clean up an oil spill off Qeshm Island in the . Images distributed by Iran鈥檚 semiofficial news agency ISNA showed oil fouling the island’s beaches.
While Iran hasn’t said what caused the spill, the firm TankerTrackers.com says it appears to have started with an Iranian attack on a bulk carrier off Oman. Iran has repeatedly attacked shipping in the strait since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
Oman is in the Arabian Sea, coming from a tanker grounded off its southern coast. The tanker Caroline Bezengi 鈥� a sanctioned vessel believed to be part of Russia鈥檚 鈥渟hadow fleet鈥� 鈥� has been grounded since reporting an explosion in June. No party has claimed responsibility and the cause is unknown.
A British maritime risk and response company said Thursday it has been and stop the oil leak off Oman. Oil from the ship has been spreading for weeks, reaching (miles) north of the vessel.
JD Vance says Iran war will end with US in stronger position
Vice President JD Vance appeared to be lowering expectations for the Strait of Hormuz to return to the way it was before the war. He predicted in an interview on Fox News Channel that the war will end with the U.S. in a stronger position, with Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and with the Strait of Hormuz 鈥渞eturned to a place where oil and gas prices are stable for the American people.鈥�
He did not say anything about the strait being open and toll-free for transiting ships, as he had in the past.
Vance鈥檚 comments also seemed to suggest that the administration was more acutely focused on the economic impact of the war than the original aims of the war itself.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 goal number one: keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country,鈥� he said.
The second goal, according to Vance, is to ensure that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon.
Hegseth says military can maintain Iranian blockade 鈥檌ndefinitely’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military can maintain the blockage of Iranian ports 鈥渋ndefinitely鈥� amid increasing reports of morale and supply issues aboard an aircraft carrier in the region.
Hegseth, speaking to reporters in Panama, said that 鈥渢he United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we鈥檒l rotate ships in and out, as we have and we鈥檒l continue to.鈥�
The statement comes at the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln heads into its ninth month and has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days. Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier.
Hegseth dismissed those reports as 鈥渃ompletely misrepresented鈥� and claimed that 鈥渆very ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment.鈥�
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