Houthis enter the fray: Is the Iran-Israel confrontation widening?

Euronews

8 hours ago

In a remarkable development that reflects the expansion of the open confrontation betweenIran and Israel, the Yemeni Houthi groupannounced on Sunday that it had targeted the Jaffa area with several ballistic missiles, in an attack that was coordinated with Tehran, according to official statements by the group. The entry of the Houthis, Iran's allies in Yemen, into the battle opens a new phase of regional escalation and reinforces the possibility of a "multilateral front" against Israel.
Ansar Allah's military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement that the attack was carried out during the past 24 hours and targeted what he described as "sensitive sites" in the city of Jaffa in Israel. Saree confirmed that the operation was carried out in co-ordination with the recent Iranian attacks on Israel.
On the other hand, Israeli media reported that the country's air force carried out an airstrike in Yemen, targeting, according to intelligence sources, the chief of staff of the Houthi group, Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari. The TV channel "Kan" and the "Axios" website quoted Israeli officials as saying that the operation, if confirmed successful, would be "very important and dramatic".
However, a Houthi source denied that any of the group's leaders were successfully targeted, stressing that what is being circulated is "an attempt to cover up Israel's failures in repelling the attacks."
In a televised speech broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, Ansar Allah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced his full support for the Iranian response to Israel, threatening what he described as an "open and long-term war" against Tel Aviv. Al-Houthi added that Yemen will be part of any fateful battle fought by the "axis of resistance".
Fars News Agency reported that Tehran used advanced tactical missiles, powered by solid fuel and equipped with high-explosive warheads, including the "Emad", "Qader", and "Khyber" models. The official IRNA news agency also confirmed the use of a hypersonic missile in the latest strike on the city of Haifa.
The New York Times reported that the attacks directly damaged a major Israeli research centre, leading to a fire inside one of the laboratory buildings. Yediot Aharonot also reported that the Weizmann Scientific Institute in Rehovot was severely damaged by a rocket.
With the Houthis officially entering the circle of escalation, the confrontation has gone beyond its traditional framework between Tehran and Tel Aviv, turning into a multi-front regional conflict. In the absence of signs of calm, the region appears to be heading towards an open escalation that may change the contours of the Middle East for decades to come.
Almost 48 hours after the eruption of hostilities between Israel and Iran, concerted but limited diplomatic efforts appear to be underway to prevent the conflict from spiraling out of control and ultimately bring it to a resolution.
US president Donald Trump declared on Sunday that 'we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran' and that the countries 'should make a deal and will make a deal'.
'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!', the US president said in a post on his social media on Sunday.
Meanwhile, as Israel has expanded its onslaught on Iran, Tehran has reached out to Qatar and Oman through diplomatic channels asking for regional mediators to intervene in relaunching negotiations, multiple Israeli media outlets reported on Sunday citing Israeli government sources.
According to the same Israeli sources, Iran is asking Qatar and Oman to act as intermediaries to inform the United States of its willingness to negotiate a ceasefire or for Washington to urge Israel to stop its offensive, while Saudi Arabia may also be pursuing discreet diplomatic efforts to enable a de-escalation of the hostilities between Iran and Israel.
These diplomatic manoeuvres were echoed by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday when he said that Iran remains open to negotiating a nuclear deal, as a possible response to US president Donald Trump's calls for Iran to return to the negotiating table and make a deal on its nuclear activities.
'We are prepared for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons,' Aragchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran.
However, the Iranian foreign minister still chose to add a defiant tone to his statement by saying that Iran would not accept any deal that 'deprives Iran of its nuclear rights' and that continuing talks with the United States in the current circumstances would be 'unjustifiable'.
Meanwhile Israel has pressed on with its operations on Sunday, warning Iran to evacuate the nuclear sites. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the attack site in Bat Yam, where he declared: "Iran will pay a very heavy price for the murder of civilians, women, and children that they committed intentionally."
Netanyahu added: "We are here because we are in an existential battle—something that is now clear to every Israeli citizen. Just imagine what would happen if Iran possessed nuclear weapons to launch against Israeli cities."
Israel remains skeptical that Iran would respect any future deal and instead asked the Trump administration to join its efforts to destroy Iran's nuclear programmes, according to Israeli officials. Washington however refuses to get involved directly.
Meanwhile, European leaders have been calling for a diplomatic solution to avoid an all-out war that could spiral across the Middle East and beyond, but security expert Claude Moniquet told Euronews that Europe has been left 'sitting on the sidelines'.
Those talks may now be in doubt, but 'the Europeans were excluded' from them anyway, Moniquet pointed out.
'Europeans have been pretty much excluded from all major diplomatic manoeuvres around the war in Gaza or the war in Lebanon,' the former French intelligence officer and author said.