What the Houthis’ entry into the Iran war means for the conflict and the wider region

Houthi forces said they had fired ballistic missiles at ‘sensitive Israeli military sites’ and would continue military operations until the ‘aggression’ came to an end on all fronts Photograph: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images

The true significance of the long-awaited entry of Yemen’s Houthis into the Iran war depends on whether the Tehran-backed proxy group is intending to send a few missiles and drones from a distance towards Israel or will instead capitalise on its proximity to the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait to effectively close off the Red Sea to shipping, just as Iran has in effect shut the strait of Hormuz.

The combined effect of both waterways being shut to commercial traffic from countries that neither the Iranians nor Houthis favour would be devastating. Napoleon Bonaparte’s remark that “the policy of a state lies in its geography” has never seemed more apt.