Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict

The operations of the European Union's naval mission to the Red Sea have not been affected by Iran's first-ever direct attack on Israel but the force needs more combat ships to protect merchant vessels sailing through "a vast area," its commander told Reuters on Tuesday.

The United States military has undertaken a significant interception operation, intercepting and destroying over 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles aimed at Israel from Iran and Yemen, as confirmed by the Pentagon on Monday.

It was 1.50 p.m., on January 16 when a 15-meter-long Houthi missile hit the Greek-owned ship Zografia off the coast of Yemen. Miraculously, no injuries were caused by the explosion and the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship sailed to Perama in Greece for repairs.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at two vessels in the Red Sea, they said on Tuesday, causing minor damage to a cargo ship that was sailing off the coast of Yemen's Hodeidah.

The United States has reportedly reached out to China, urging them to use their influence with Tehran to put an end to the ship attacks carried out by Yemen's Iran-affiliated Houthi rebels. Despite repeated discussions on the matter, Washington has encountered limited cooperation from Beijing, as reported by the Financial Times, citing US officials.

In a joint effort, the United States and the United Kingdom executed a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, marking the eighth round of attacks within the past 10 days. The latest operation, carried out on Monday, targeted the rebels' infrastructure, hitting eight specific sites. This joint action received support from Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Australia.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have declared that Russian and Chinese ships navigating the Red Sea are not under threat, with one leader, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, going so far as to pledge "the safe passage of these ships." However, he issued a stark warning, stating that "Israeli ships or those with even a weak connection to Israel will not have the slightest chance to pass through the Red Se

In response to an anti-ship ballistic missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, the United States executed fresh strikes against Houthi targets, marking the third such action within a week. The strikes, conducted on Tuesday, targeted Houthi-controlled areas following their missile launch into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea.

Disruptions to Red Sea shipping caused by Houthi attacks will push up prices of consumer goods, an executive from port and freight operator DP World said on Tuesday as a missile struck another vessel in the region.

The Iran-allied Houthi militia has threatened to expand its attacks to include United States ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.

In a startling development that has further heightened tensions in the already volatile Red Sea region, a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile successfully struck a US-owned and operated cargo ship, the Gibraltar Eagle, as announced by US Central Command in a statement reported by CNN.