Houthi strikes mark key expansion of war

Missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthis against Israel over the weekend underscored how the war is likely to further escalate before any near-term truce is reached, analysts warned.

The head of a Washington, DC, think tank noted that the group’s entry into the conflict was just one of a number of ways the war could metastasize, ranging from Gulf Arab states responding to Iran’s attacks, Israel expanding its offensive in Lebanon, or direct strikes on regional power infrastructure — all “wholly apart from the potential engagement of US ground forces.”

A leading energy expert added that Iran’s decentralized decision-making made “escalation less coordinated, but not less likely,” warning: “What we are now seeing is not simply a war continuing, but a war expanding.”