Iran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi RihDeath toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off FloresIsraeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truceColombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbsRhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactorUS readies unprecedented economic measures against IranUS boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacksBond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildoutAlibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloadsDeath toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinkingTaliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisisEU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfireUS presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupiedMokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit MaribSeoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drillsChina-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field testOpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departsHamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nearsWHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the responseTurkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK membersMorocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialiseChina publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claimsMyanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriationPetrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the AmazonChina condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni ShrineUS inflation cools as wages again lag behind pricesModi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in IndiaOil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coastPanama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridorUkraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fallFormer Chinese premier Zhu Rongji diesAt least 20 killed in communal clashes in central NigeriaIran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilotsXi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter ChinaVenezuela frees 131 more political prisonersMore Syrians in Germany lose refugee protectionAudit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defencesIndia drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firmsHichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumesParis prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hackReport details leverage behind Situational Awareness lossesArgentina has lost 30,633 companies under MileiAt least five dead in Indiana floodingIran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltrationCanadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signaturesIndia raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility earlyOpaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and MaltaBritain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stallThird drone debris find in a day on Turkish coastsForecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El NiñoSecondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riotsIran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi RihDeath toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off FloresIsraeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truceColombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbsRhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactorUS readies unprecedented economic measures against IranUS boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacksBond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildoutAlibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloadsDeath toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinkingTaliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisisEU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfireUS presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupiedMokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit MaribSeoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drillsChina-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field testOpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departsHamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nearsWHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the responseTurkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK membersMorocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialiseChina publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claimsMyanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriationPetrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the AmazonChina condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni ShrineUS inflation cools as wages again lag behind pricesModi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in IndiaOil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coastPanama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridorUkraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fallFormer Chinese premier Zhu Rongji diesAt least 20 killed in communal clashes in central NigeriaIran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilotsXi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter ChinaVenezuela frees 131 more political prisonersMore Syrians in Germany lose refugee protectionAudit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defencesIndia drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firmsHichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumesParis prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hackReport details leverage behind Situational Awareness lossesArgentina has lost 30,633 companies under MileiAt least five dead in Indiana floodingIran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltrationCanadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signaturesIndia raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility earlyOpaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and MaltaBritain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stallThird drone debris find in a day on Turkish coastsForecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El NiñoSecondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riots
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Narrative thread · 8 events

Saudi-Houthi conflict

Symbolic image: Saudi-Houthi conflictSymbolic image

Where things stand

Riyadh has begun planning its multinational naval force for the Bab el-Mandeb, while Saudi ships already reroute around Africa; the Houthi leader rallied crowds in Sana'a as the blockade held, and Yemeni reports point to a possible ground offensive.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthi movement in Yemen, and its air campaign periodically targets sites the coalition describes as Houthi military installations. Hodeidah, on Yemen's Red Sea coast, is one of the country's main ports and features in this episode as the location of the strikes reported by Folha de S.Paulo. The Red Sea is a corridor for commercial shipping, and The National reports that attacks by the rebels on a vessel there preceded the latest strikes. Reporting on such exchanges typically relies on statements from the combatants, so individual claims about targets and outcomes are often difficult to verify independently.

Timeline in detail

Saturday, 1 August 2026Geopolitics

Saudi Arabia plans Red Sea naval coalition as Houthis tighten blockade

Saudi Arabia held the first planning session on Thursday for a proposed maritime defence coalition to secure the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, and Bloomberg reported that Saudi ships are now avoiding the chokepoint and sailing around Africa. Tehran Times reported that the Ansarullah leader spoke to hundreds of thousands in Sana'a's Sab'een Square on Friday as Yemen locked in its naval blockade, while The National linked a growing Houthi presence in Iraq to an attack on the kingdom.

Friday, 31 July 2026GeopoliticsSaudi Arabia forms multinational Red Sea shipping coalition

Saudi Arabia forms multinational Red Sea shipping coalition

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday a multinational maritime defence coalition, joined by dozens of states including Egypt and Turkey, to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait against Houthi attacks. Yemeni sources told The Guardian that Riyadh is at the same time concentrating forces for a possible major offensive by sea and possibly by land against the Houthis in central Yemen.

Thursday, 30 July 2026GeopoliticsHouthis strike Saudi ships as Riyadh seeks Red Sea coalition

Houthis strike Saudi ships as Riyadh seeks Red Sea coalition

Houthi forces struck several Saudi vessels in the Bab al-Mandab strait, which Le Monde reports has become even more important since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and Breitbart reports the group is considering charging shipping "fees" for safe passage. Saudi Arabia is seeking international partners for a coalition to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, according to two people familiar with the deliberations cited by Daily Sabah, as attacks on energy tankers push oil prices higher.

Wednesday, 29 July 2026GeopoliticsHouthis say they struck Saudi tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea

Houthis say they struck Saudi tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea

The Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, and their spokesman Yahya Sarea said the vessel was forced to change course, part of the group's declared naval blockade of Saudi shipping. Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, said the Houthis will decide for themselves, at the appropriate time, whether to strike US bases alongside Iran.

Tuesday, 28 July 2026GeopoliticsSaudi Arabia intercepts drones from Iraq as Houthi attacks cut Red Sea traffic by half

Saudi Arabia intercepts drones from Iraq as Houthi attacks cut Red Sea traffic by half

Saudi Arabia says it shot down drones launched from Iraqi territory at oil facilities in its Eastern Province and at Riyadh, blaming Iran-backed militias and reserving the right to respond. Yemen's Houthis separately claimed drone strikes on the pipeline infrastructure carrying crude from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Shipping data show traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has fallen by 56 percent since the Houthis declared an embargo on Saudi-linked vessels on July 20.

The NationalThe GuardianAl Jazeera

Monday, 27 July 2026GeopoliticsHouthi blockade halts Saudi oil exports through Bab al-Mandeb; crude reroutes via Suez

Houthi blockade halts Saudi oil exports through Bab al-Mandeb; crude reroutes via Suez

After the Houthis declared a maritime embargo on Saudi shipping and struck two tankers in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia has loaded no crude for export through the Bab al-Mandeb strait from its west coast, according to Kpler data cited by The National. Cargoes for Asian buyers are instead moving through the Suez Canal, a route that adds weeks and cost. The rebels also claim to have hit Aramco sites at Jizan and Yanbu, a claim neither the Saudi government nor Aramco has confirmed.

The NationalRzeczpospolitaReuters

Sunday, 26 July 2026GeopoliticsHouthis claim missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco sites after Hodeidah strikes

Houthis claim missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco sites after Hodeidah strikes

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Saturday it had fired missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu, calling it retaliation for Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Hodeidah the night before. Saudi air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen and emergency alerts were issued in both cities, but Riyadh has not confirmed any damage. The exchange follows a Houthi declaration of a naval blockade of the kingdom and comes as the Red Sea becomes a second disrupted shipping corridor alongside the Strait of Hormuz.

The NationalThe GuardianTelesur

Saturday, 25 July 2026GeopoliticsSaudi-led coalition strikes Houthi targets in Hodeidah

Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthi targets in Hodeidah

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it carried out air strikes on Friday against Houthi military installations in the port city of Hodeidah, according to Folha de S.Paulo. The National reports the strikes followed rebel attacks on a vessel in the Red Sea.