After more than a decade of war, Yemen’s conflict is no longer just about the Houthis versus the government. It is now exposing open fractures inside the anti Houthi camp itself. The war began in 2014 when Iran aligned Houthi forces seized Sanaa and pushed out the internationally recognized government.

A year later, Saudi Arabia led Operation Decisive Storm, a military intervention leading a coalition of Arab states (including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others) at Hadi's request. 

The coalition aimed to restore the legitimate government, counter Iranian influence through the Houthis, and secure Saudi borders from Houthi cross-border attacks, such as missile and drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities. Saudi framed the conflict as a defense against Iranian expansionism, with airstrikes, ground operations, and a naval blockade to weaken Houthi supply lines. 

Total casualties from this conflict are estimated at almost 400k since it began…A mixture of war and famine. It makes you wonder why most people have never heard of it.

Saudi Arabia has focused narrowly on border security and containing Houthi missile and drone attacks. The UAE has followed a different playbook, backing powerful southern militias, most notably the Southern Transitional Council, which openly seeks an independent southern Yemen and controls key ports including Aden.

Those differences have simmered for years. This week, they boiled over…

Today (December 30), Saudi led coalition aircraft struck the port of Mukalla in eastern Yemen. The strikes are against arms shipments arnd rebel military positions that Saudi Arabia claim “destabilize the region”. 

Saudi officials said the target was unauthorized weapons shipments arriving by sea and accused foreign backed actors of undermining coalition unity.
Within hours, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council declared a nationwide state of emergency. All air, land, and sea crossings were shut for 72 hours. The council ordered all UAE forces to leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours and suspended joint defense arrangements.

It was the sharpest public rupture yet between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi since the war began.

Mukalla matters. The port sits on the Arabian Sea, far from the Red Sea choke points, and is central to trade routes and potential energy exports. Control of eastern Yemen has long been a quiet contest between Saudi backed government forces and UAE aligned southern factions.

The risk now is strategic fragmentation. As anti Houthi forces turn inward, the Houthis retain control of the north and continue threatening shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Any prolonged blockade will also hit civilians first. More than 21 million Yemenis already depend on humanitarian aid.
The United Nations has called for restraint. The United States and other Western backers have so far stayed publicly silent.

If the standoff escalates, Yemen could slide toward a de facto partition. A Houthi north. A UAE influenced south. And a weakened central government caught in between. For a war often described as frozen, Yemen just moved again.

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets across the country for a third consecutive day on Monday, chanting against the Islamic Republic's leadership and demanding an end to years of economic isolation imposed by international sanctions, as the rial hit record lows amid spiraling inflation.

Crowds chanted "Death to the dictator" and waved fists at riot police firing tear gas canisters. 

The Iranian rial took another nosedive to a record low of around 1.445 million per U.S. dollar, effectively making it worthless on a global level.

"This isn't just about bread prices…..it's about our lives being choked off from the world," a 42 year old shopkeeper in Tehran's Jomhouri Street told Reuters by phone, speaking anonymously amid fears of arrest. He described how inflation exceeding 40% has eroded savings, with food costs surging 72% and medicine up 50% in the past year alone, forcing families to skip meals or forgo healthcare. 

Students at elite universities like Tehran University and Amirkabir University of Technology joined the fray, chanting pro-monarchy slogans such as "Long live the Shah" and "This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return," signaling not just economic grievances, but outright calls for regime change. 

President Masoud Pezeshkian, facing his toughest test since taking office, appealed for calm, vowing to heed "legitimate demands" and reform monetary systems to safeguard purchasing power. 

Yet, security forces, bolstered by anti riot units and plainclothes “undercover” agents filled key squares like Vanak and Azadi, deploying tear gas and, in Hamadan, reportedly firing directly at crowds. 

Rumors of a state of emergency in Tehran circulated but remain unconfirmed by major outlets, dismissed by the regime as “foreign meddling”. 

As many voiced their solidarity, and protests showed no sign of slowing down, analysts warned of potential escalation, especially with the regime's record executions and arrests failing to calm anyone down.

The foreign ministry branded the upheaval "minor disturbances" stoked by, you guessed it…. “Foreign enemies”.
But the chants filling  Iran's streets suggest a population that is no longer content with isolation, demanding reconnection to the world on their terms.

Are these protests going to be short lived, or is this the beginning of something much larger?… Time will tell.

President Donald Trump gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his full backing to strike Iran again, saying "yes" to hits on ballistic missiles and "fast" action on nuclear sites.

In a Mar-a-Lago meeting on Monday, Trump told reporters he'd support Israel on missiles outright and move immediately on nukes, adding the U.S. would "knock the hell out of them" if needed. "One will be yes, absolutely. The other, we'll do it immediately," he said, clarifying his stance on potential Israeli operations. 

Netanyahu briefed Trump on Iran's rebuilding efforts after October strikes that set back Tehran's missile program by months, pushing for joint pressure on shared threats like Iran's arsenal, Hamas and Hezbollah. Israeli officials see the ballistic missiles as an immediate risk, capable of overwhelming defenses, while nuclear ambitions also demand urgent response. 

"Bibi knows best," Trump said, which seems to signal total alignment….A slightly more optimistic statement than many anticipated. Iran warned of a "harsh response" via President Masoud Pezeshkian X, saying any aggression would face retaliation "beyond its planners’ imagination." 

Russia jumped in and urged dialogue and restraint on both sides.The talks, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Jared Kushner, and Elon Musk present, also covered Gaza hostages and disarming militants. 

Trump threatened Hamas with major repercussions if it doesn't disarm soon, vowing to "obliterate" holdouts in Gaza if demands aren't met. Though no day after plan has been officially confirmed, it seems that alignment between Trump and Netanyahu is at an all time high.

In another order of business, Trump said his administration is "very seriously" considering selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, a move that could mend ties with Ankara but raises security concerns given its past purchase of Russian S-400 systems.

Trump also expressed respect for Syria's new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, describing him as a "very strong guy" needed to lead the nation after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

"You can't put a choir boy... He's a strong guy. We get along with him great. I can't ask for any more,".

Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Trump made it very clear of his willingness to engage with the new government despite its jihadist roots.