Conflict with Saudi Arabia
Why violence is flaring up again in Yemen
Updated August 11, 2026 – 12:50 p.mReading time: 4 minutes
Yemen has been mired in civil war since 2014. Recently there was widespread calm, but now violence is flaring up again. Is there a risk of further escalation in the Iran war?
Another front is threatening to open in the war in the Middle East. There are ongoing attacks at the moment Yemena desperately poor country on the Arabian Peninsula. The conflict there escalated again in the wake of the Iran war. These are the backgrounds:
Who is fighting against whom in Yemen?
The internationally recognized government in Yemen is fighting alongside the neighboring country Saudi Arabia for several years against the vom Iran supported Houthi militia. This literally overran Yemen in 2014 and plunged it into civil war. Since then, the Houthis have mainly controlled the north of the country and large parts of the western Red Sea coast. There the militia, which officially calls itself “Ansar Allah” (“Supporters of God”), enforces its ideology by force.
The aim of the attacks by the military coalition led by Riyadh was to support the Yemeni government and to push back the influence of the Houthis – and thus Iran – in the country. A ceasefire came into force in the conflict in 2022, although minor skirmishes continued. More than 150,000 people died in the war as a result of direct military consequences. The latest attacks are the worst escalation in the Yemeni conflict in years.
What triggered the current attacks?
The current escalation was triggered in July by air strikes in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa. According to its own statements, the country’s internationally recognized government wanted to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing on Yemeni soil.
The coalition led by Riyadh controls access to Yemeni airspace, particularly restricting international airspace Air traffic for the Airport Sanaa strong. According to experts, with the plan to land an Iranian plane in the capital, the Houthis wanted to question control over Yemeni airspace.
Observers such as the International Crisis Group think tank assume that the Houthis see themselves strengthened by the course of the Iran war. Iran supported the militia’s plan. The think tank spoke of a “change of course” because Tehran had campaigned for an easing of the situation in Yemen in recent years.
The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack on the airport in Sanaa in mid-July and declared a “blockade” of shipping for the influential Gulf state. The Iran-backed militia has since also attacked several Saudi ships and targets in the Gulf state.
What was the situation before?
After 2014, the war in Yemen triggered a humanitarian catastrophe – millions of people there are dependent on aid. Despite its own oil and gas reserves, Yemen is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. In addition, the conflict has flared up again and again in recent years.
