World
Houthi terrorists used in major wars in Israel, Ukraine as pawns for Iran, Russia geopolitical aims
The threat of a regional war in the Middle East is troubling world leaders as Islamic extremist groups climb back to the top of international headlines, this time with the backing of state-sponsored terrorism.
The Houthi terrorist group has been a long-standing nuisance in the Red Sea due to its near-decade-long attacks on military and merchant ships using increasingly sophisticated weapons systems.
Following Hamas terrorists’ deadly Oct. 7 assault on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, Houthi-led attacks in the Red Sea have drastically increased, and the group has vowed not to cease its operations until Israel stops its attacks against Hamas and the Palestinian people.
However, these strikes are rooted in more than Houthi opposition to the war in Gaza and point to an increasingly sophisticated geopolitical tactic by U.S.’s chief adversaries, Iran and Russia.
Houthi fighters march during a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the U.S. strikes on Yemen outside Sanaa on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East are offering to come to Lebanon to join the militant Hezbollah group in its fight with Israel. (AP Photo)
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“The Houthis have become a major player in Iran’s strategy to tighten the noose around Israel,” Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founding editor of “The Long War Journal,” told Fox News Digital.
However, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are not only playing into Iran’s strategy, they are aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine, and by extension, the U.S. and NATO.
Reports surfaced earlier this month suggesting that Russia may be looking to arm Houthi terrorists in the Red Sea in retaliation for the U.S.’ immense support of Ukraine.
Though U.S. defense officials have said they do not believe Moscow has yet transferred any arms to the terrorist organization, the news followed a meeting that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov reportedly had with Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam earlier this year.
The meeting was an alleged attempt by the militant group to encourage Russia to put pressure on the U.S. and stop the war in Gaza.
Western defense officials have been sounding the alarm that Houthi attacks in the Red Sea not only threaten the lives of those in international waters, but are contributing to food and trade shortages worldwide, further exacerbating global food insecurity, particularly in Africa, initially started by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The British-registered cargo ship Rubymar is seen sinking on March 3 after it was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi forces while traveling in the Red Sea. ( Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
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“You can never look at these things in isolation,” Roggio said. “Anything the Russians can do to punish [the U.S.] – military costs, economic costs, political costs. It’s driving up the costs for the U.S. to support Ukraine by compounding problems throughout the Middle East.”
“The Russians are going to take advantage of any conflicts the U.S. are in,” he added. “We are kind of in a return to a Cold War-type state where this is bleeding over into theaters where the U.S. has direct interest.”
Roggio explained that while its “very possible” Russia is having direct communication with the Houthis, he believes it is more likely that Moscow is working through Tehran.
“What the Iranians are doing is beneficial for Iran,” he said. “Its almost like Russia is outsourcing pain for the U.S….via Iran.”
The Russia-Iran partnership first garnered global attention after Tehran agreed to supply Russian President Vladimir Putin with drones just six months into its deadly war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 7, 2023. (SERGEI BOBYLYOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Iran and Russia have since established a mutually beneficial partnership in an effort to counter Western sanctions slapped on both nations for varying security reasons.
As attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea continue to mount, it has become increasingly evident how the militant group is being used by both Iran and Russia for their geopolitical aims.
From mid-October 2023 through July, there have been nearly 290 attacks by Houthi terrorists based out of Yemen directed at merchant and military ships in the Red Sea, as well as strikes against Israel, which the U.S. Navy has helped to intercept, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a nonprofit data collection agency.
Despite the increased U.S. presence in the Red Sea, the head of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. Erik Kurilla, reportedly advised Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that U.S. military operations in the region were “failing” and urged a broader approach, reported the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
People lift their rifles and chant slogans while participating in a protest staged in solidarity with Palestinians and Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 22. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
“What we’re doing is basically targeting weapons systems. We’re not making an effort to target Houthi leadership, to target military and political leadership,” Roggio said. “You really want to get to the root of the problem – it’s the Iranians that are behind all of this.”
“The Iranians have not had to pay a price,” he added. “[They] are happy to let the Houthis fight to the death – that’s not really going to impact the Iranians.”
NEW YORK (AP) — This stowaway truly was sly as a fox.
A red fox somehow slipped onto a cargo ship that traveled from Southampton, England, to New York, where the animal is now in the Bronx Zoo’s care.
The zoo said Wednesday that the 11-pound (5-kilogram) male fox appears healthy after early examinations.
“He seems to be settling in well,” Keith Lovett, the zoo’s director of animal programs, said by phone. “It’s gone through a lot.”
It’s not clear how the animal got on the ship full of automobiles, which left Southampton on Feb. 4, according to the zoo. The ship arrived Feb. 18 at the Port of New York and New Jersey, and officials brought the fox to the zoo the next day. He’s estimated to be 2 years old.
AP AUDIO: A red fox stows away on a cargo ship, traveling from England to US
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports a fox stows away on cargo ship and travels from England to US.
Zoo representatives weren’t sure how and when the fox was discovered. Messages seeking those details were sent to government agencies involved with the port.
The species, formally named Vulpes vulpes, is widespread in Europe, Asia, North America and parts of Africa. A long-term home for this fox will be found once he clears some more health screening.
For now, he’s in the zoo’s veterinary center. Being an omnivore, he’s getting a diet of produce, proteins and some biscuit-like items.
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Spain permanently pulled its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday over its opposition to the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, ratcheting up an already tense diplomatic rift between the two countries.
The Spanish government formally terminated the ambassador’s post in its official gazette and said its embassy in Tel Aviv will now be led by a chargé d’affaires indefinitely.
Madrid had recalled its ambassador last September after Israel condemned Spain’s decision to block aircraft and ships carrying weapons to Israel from using Spanish ports or airspace. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the move antisemitic at the time.
When a reporter on Wednesday asked whether Spain, in general, was cooperating with the U.S., President Donald Trump replied, “No, they’re not. I think they’re not cooperating at all.”
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People walk past damaged buildings following a strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)
“Spain, I think they’ve been very bad,” the president said. “Very bad. Not good at all. We may cut off trade with Spain.”
“I don’t know what Spain is doing,” Trump continued. “They’ve been very bad to NATO. They get protected, they don’t want to pay their fair share. And they’ve been that way for many years.”
Trump added that the people of Spain “are fantastic,” whereas the leadership is “not so good.”
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday criticized Spain’s decision to recall its ambassador to Israel permanently as “hard for me to absorb.”
“Spain is a member of NATO, and the United States and Israel are in joint operations against the Iranian regime who openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish State, attacks against the West, and seeks to purify Islam in its own image,” Graham wrote on X.
Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel, the latest flare-up in the rocky diplomatic relationship between the two countries in recent years. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
“The religious Nazi regime in Iran is the problem, not the Jewish State,” the senator continued. “I hope Spain’s actions will not encourage the tyrannical, fanatical regime in Iran — that abuses its own people — to hang on.”
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Relations between Spain and Israel have deteriorated sharply since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
Israel also downgraded its diplomatic presence in Spain last May after Spain recognized a Palestinian state, placing its own embassy in Madrid under a chargé d’affaires.
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The European Union is bracing itself for potentially major repercussions as the Iran war persists, with Brussels urged to intervene to cushion the economic impact on consumers and secure energy supplies.
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But beyond the immediate concerns, the war is also raising existential questions about the EU’s foreign policy and its place in an increasingly dangerous and chaotic world.
In this context, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Antonio López-Istúriz, of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), and Daniel Attard of the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) stepped into The Ring to defend their views on the EU’s response to the conflict.
Both MEPs are aligned in their condemnation of the Tehran regime and believe that the EU has to continue to support the Iranian people calling for change.
MEP Attard believes that reports of Iranian mine-laying ships in the critical Strait of Hormuz indicate that the regime is severely weakened and facing its moment of reckoning.
MEP López-Istúriz says the EU must firmly stand by its democratic allies — including the US and Israel — rejecting the “narrative” of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has firmly condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as a violation of international law and the values that the EU holds dear.
This episode of The Ring is anchored by Mared Gwyn Jones, produced by Luis Albertos and Amaia Echevarria, and edited by Vassilis Glynos.
Watch The Ring on Euronews TV or in the player above and send us your views by writing to thering@euronews.com.
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