Yemen’s Houthis Complicate Middle East War (S01E38)

badlands podcast by borzou daragahi · Mar 30, 2026 · 6m

Monday, March 30, 2026, Istanbul

Yemen’s Houthi-led government fired a missile at Israel for the first time since hte war began on Saturday, marking its debut in the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran.

The missile was easily shot down, the Israelis said.

But the Iran-allied group’s participation in the conflict will complicate any US attempt to seize Iranian territory. The Houthis are well-positioned to wreak havoc on US assets positioned across the Arabian Peninsula.

But they also close the Bab al-Mandeb strait through which both Gulf oil and Suez Canal ships transit from the…