A new front in the US-Iran war is escalating as the Houthis set fire to Saudi oil facilities | Articles of Controversy

Tehran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have fired missiles and drones at two of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil fields on the Red Sea, in a major escalation of the latest conflict fueled by the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

But the atmosphere in the world at the center of the escalating war was quiet for the second night in a row, with no new US attack on Iran reported on Sunday morning.

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Iran has been hit by 13 consecutive waves of US airstrikes since July 11, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked tanks trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. As the violence escalated, both sides announced that a long-term deal signed in June was dead, and a second round of talks to complete a peace deal appeared to have failed.

But there have been no US airstrikes since Friday, and it appears that Washington and Tehran are still talking through mediation and may return to meaningful talks.

Although they have agreed to another fragile agreement, the consequences of the war are still fueling conflict and conflict elsewhere.

Iran’s attack on shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz has threatened oil and fertilizer exports, driven up energy prices and raised the risk of food insecurity in some of the most vulnerable countries.

In March, in response to Iran’s attack, Lebanon’s Tehran-backed Hezbollah group resumed its offensive against Israel, triggering a deadly offensive in southern Lebanon that has displaced 1.2 million people.

Now, another serious regional conflict has begun again, between Saudi Arabia allied with the US and the Houthi group that controls the north and west of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia and its regional allies joined a brutal civil war against the Houthis in 2015, until an agreement was reached in 2022.

Risk of global problems

The deal collapsed this month after an attack on Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian airliner prompted the Houthis to fire missiles at Saudi Arabia. Last Monday, the Houthis announced that they would blockade the sea in Saudi Arabia, and at the end of Friday the Saudis launched it. a plane crash in the city of Hodeida, in the hands of the Houthis.

In retaliation, Houthi forces launched attacks on Sunday at facilities of Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco in the coastal cities of Jizan and Yanbu, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.

There has been no comment from Saudi Arabia on the extent of any damage to the Aramco refinery in Jizan, but heavy smoke was seen rising after the attack.

In Yanbu, the main gateway to the western coast of Saudi Arabia, two anti-aircraft missiles linked to the Patriot battery operated in Saudi Arabia by the Greek military under an agreement with Riyadh.

The growing conflict has raised fears that the Houthis could block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. If both the Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz straits were to be closed, the looming crisis would cause serious economic damage to the world.

Disruptive wars

Besides spreading to the Red Sea, the US-Iran war has been affected by the deadliest conflict in the world – Russia’s attempt to conquer Ukraine.

The long-running strike on an Iranian submarine in the The Caspian Sea On Saturday it triggered an explosion that killed one crew member and wounded another, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, which condemned Ukraine and called on Kyiv’s charge d’affaires in Tehran to express its condemnation of “hatred and terrorism”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that Kyiv had achieved “very strong results” with a long-range strike in the Caspian Sea, hitting “containers used to transport military supplies to Iran, as well as a warship”.

Zelenskyy also commented on X Saturday that since the beginning of July, Kyiv has received “Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf countries and US military equipment located there”. He also said that satellite images were provided to Tehran to help the IRGC identify targets for bombing by missiles and drones.

US President Donald Trump did not give a reason for the sudden end of flights to Iran, but a Reuters official told Reuters that Trump “has been clear that his preference is for negotiations, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table seriously”.

Trump said on Friday that there was no further contact with Iran.

“They are talking to us right now, they want to make a deal with them,” he said. “I don’t think they’re ready…but I’m willing to listen.”

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, who is based in Tehran, said Iranian officials had confirmed that the two sides were exchanging messages.

“There have been suggestions made by the mediators, and Tehran is still evaluating them,” Serdar said, adding that “there is no significant progress” due to the “big differences” in their positions and the high level of mistrust.