The Houthis are threatening to block Saudi ports

Houthi rebels in Yemen have announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabian ports, a threat that reignites a conflict with the kingdom dating back more than 10 years. “We affirm our people’s right to respond to a blockade with a blockade, and to any escalation with an escalation,” said the military spokesperson for the Iran-backed movement.

The announcement follows missile and drone strikes launched last week by the rebels towards Abha airport in the south of the kingdom, after they accused Riyadh of an attack on Sanaa airport. The ceasefire agreed in April 2022, which had held for more than four years, is now under threat.

It all began with the reopening of Sana’a airport this month, when the Houthis allowed an Iranian aircraft carrying rebel officials and wounded Yemenis to land there. The rebels accused Saudi Arabia of deploying fighter jets to prevent the aircraft from landing. The plane then carried a Houthi delegation to Tehran for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the war – the first direct flight between Yemen and Iran in over a decade. On its return journey, the aircraft was forced to divert to the port of Hodeida, as Sana’a airport had been attacked by Yemeni forces allied with Riyadh, which fears that these flights are being used to transport weapons and military advisers to the rebels.

The stakes for the kingdom are considerable. Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been transporting its crude oil to Asia via an east-west pipeline to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, from where it exports nearly 4.9 million barrels a day, according to data from Kpler. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, has become vital for these exports.

It remains to be seen whether the Houthis will follow through: Mohammed Albasha, of the Basha Report consultancy, sees this as “another step up the escalation ladder”, pointing out that similar threats made against Israel this year were not followed by attacks on ships. “Even if no ships are targeted, the announcement alone risks disrupting traffic and creating uncertainty for Saudi ports,” he says. Farea al-Muslimi, of Chatham House, takes a more sombre view: “I think we’re back to 2015.” Financial Times

🇮🇷 Iran - 🇺🇸 United States • Iran said today that it is facing an “all-out war” with the United States, on the ninth consecutive day of US air strikes, which are now hitting the centre and north-west of the country, well beyond the southern provinces. One person has died in Tabriz, and strikes have targeted Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational nuclear power station, as well as the one under construction in Darkhovin. Iranian figures put the death toll at 50 and the number of injured at over 500 since 27 June, whilst 17 US military personnel have been killed since the war began on 28 February, including two on Friday in Iranian strikes in Jordan. Tehran continues to target Washington’s allies in the Gulf, with drone attacks on air traffic control systems in Bahrain and on power stations and desalination plants in Kuwait, where temperatures have reached 47°C.

🇵🇸 Palestine • Hamas today elected Khalil al-Hayya as head of its political bureau, replacing Yahya Sinouar, who was killed by Israel in October 2024. As the movement’s chief negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, this 60-year-old, born in Gaza City, has built his influence behind the scenes in diplomacy rather than on the military front. He has survived three assassination attempts, including one carried out by Israel in Qatar in September 2025, which claimed the life of one of his sons.

🇷🇺 Russia - 🇺🇦 Ukraine • Russia launched one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv since 2022, firing 41 missiles and 125 drones during the night from Saturday to Sunday, killing one person and injuring 16, whilst damaging residential buildings, a supermarket and a university hall of residence. A missile strike also sank the Golden Leo, a cargo ship loaded with maize near the port of Odessa, killing 10 Indian and Syrian sailors, whilst another attack on the city left three people dead today. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again called on his allies to speed up deliveries of interceptor missiles. In response, Ukraine launched more than 400 drones towards Moscow and its surroundings overnight, targeting logistics facilities and an oil depot, with damage reported in Podolsk, Domodedovo and Odintsovo. Kyiv also claims to have struck seven Russian ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, bringing the total number of vessels targeted in July to 183. Moscow, for its part, has condemned a drone attack on a coach in the Belgorod region that killed five civilians, including a teenager.

🇪🇸 Spain • The fire that broke out on Thursday in the village of La Mierla, in the province of Guadalajara, has ravaged 26,000 hectares and remains out of control after five days. The authorities have evacuated 1,200 people, and nearly 30 hamlets find themselves surrounded by flames in an area that the regional president, Emiliano García-Page, describes as “a deserted Spain, devoid of people”. Another fire near Zaragoza, which has burnt 15,000 hectares, has been contained since Sunday evening. Spain is the worst-affected country in the European Union this year, with 104,423 hectares gone up in smoke, and is facing its third heatwave of the year, with temperatures expected to reach 42 to 44°C by Thursday.

🇪🇺 European Union • The European Central Bank is due to decide on Thursday whether to keep interest rates steady or raise them, against a backdrop clouded by renewed bombing in the Middle East and rising oil prices.

🇭🇺 Hungary • President Tamas Sulyok signed into law on Saturday the constitutional amendment that brings his own term of office to an end, marking a further step in Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s campaign to remove Viktor Orban’s loyalists from public institutions. The amendment also sets the retirement age for constitutional judges at 70.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom • Andy Burnham, who takes up his post at Downing Street today, is expected to continue Keir Starmer’s diplomatic approach on Ukraine, NATO and closer ties with the European Union. The former mayor of Manchester has promised “100 per cent” support for Kyiv. He may, however, take a tougher line towards Israel, believing that Labour “did not rise to the occasion” at the start of the war in Gaza and calling for new sanctions to be considered.

🇨🇳 China – 🇪🇺 European Union • Brussels today imposed a fine of €550 million on AliExpress, the Alibaba Group’s platform, for allowing dangerous toys and cosmetics, as well as counterfeit goods, to be sold to European consumers. This is the heaviest penalty ever imposed under the Digital Services Act, following the €200 million fine imposed on Temu at the end of May. AliExpress will appeal.

🇺🇸 United States – 🇬🇧 United Kingdom • Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested on Saturday in Miami by US Marshals, at the request of the United Kingdom, which is seeking their extradition. The British prosecution service has brought 59 charges against the two men, including rape and aiding and abetting sexual exploitation, for offences allegedly committed between 2010 and 2017 involving seven alleged victims.

🇲🇱 Mali • At least 50 soldiers were killed and 24 taken prisoner on Saturday during an ambush carried out by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front against an army convoy travelling from Anéfis to Gao. This is one of the deadliest attacks suffered by the Malian army since the start of the conflict. The Russian paramilitaries of Africa Corps, who had already arrived in Gao, suffered no casualties.

🇸🇩 Sudan - 🇺🇸 United States • A second package of US sanctions came into force today against Sudan, which is accused of using chemical weapons in its war against the Rapid Support Forces. The measures notably ban Sudanese carriers from US airspace. The war, which broke out in April 2023, has claimed more than 200,000 lives, and the UN describes it as “the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time”.

🇵🇪 Peru • An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck the Andean region of Junín on Saturday evening, killing six people and injuring 32, according to an updated toll on Sunday.

🇨🇺 Cuba – 🇪🇸 Spain • The sailing ship El Astral, operated by the Spanish NGO Open Arms, arrived on Sunday at the port of Havana carrying medicines, medical equipment and solar panels destined for the Juan Manuel Márquez Children’s Hospital. Its founder, Oscar Camps, condemned the oil embargo imposed on the island by Washington for more than five months, as Cuba is currently facing a severe economic and energy crisis.

🇺🇸 United States • Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new, low-cost Patriot surface-to-air missile, presented following announcements of the anti-ballistic “coalition” between European nations and Ukraine. According to the manufacturer, its price is said to be half that of the PAC-3 MSE interceptors, stocks of which have been depleted by recent conflicts in the Middle East.

🇨🇳 China – 🇹🇼 Taiwan • In June, the Taiwanese coastguard detected a “significant increase” in Chinese vessels carrying out “acts of harassment” in the island’s waters, with 263 vessels spotted compared with 200 in May and 171 a year earlier. A senior official believes that Beijing is seeking to “prevent Taiwan from receiving supplies”. Taipei will organise exercises to practise responding to a blockade.

🇮🇳 India • Police and thousands of protesters clashed today in central New Delhi, during one of the largest demonstrations the capital has seen in recent years. Police fired tear gas and charged with batons at the protesters – mostly students – who were denouncing fraud in university exams and demanding the resignation of the Minister of Education. Dozens of protesters and police officers were injured, and internet access was cut off in some neighbourhoods.

🇮🇳 India • The temple dedicated to the god Ram in Ayodhya, inaugurated by Narendra Modi in 2024, has been tarnished by a scandal involving the embezzlement of donations from worshippers, which local media report could amount to as much as 30 million rupees. Eight people responsible for collecting the offerings have been arrested.