Proxy relationship

Red Sea arena: Yemen’s Houthis open fourth front in Iran war, with global implications

BEHIND THE LINES: By joining Iran’s war, the Houthis have opened a dangerous new arena – one that could hit global trade, oil flows, and the wider regional balance.

|ByJONATHAN SPYER
A protester salutes as Houthi supporters demonstrate in solidarity with Iran, in Sana'a, Yemen, March 27, 2026
Then-Iran’s ambassador-designate to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheibani Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Lebanon’s internal strength tested as Iranian ambassador refuses to leave - analysis

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, was expelled in mid-March for meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Houthi protester with a poster of Ali Khamenei demonstrates amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 6, 2026

Iran warns its ready to open new front in Yemen, close Bab al-Mandab Strait with Houthis - report

"The Bab al-Mandab Strait is considered one of the strategic straits in the world, and Iran has the will to produce a completely credible threat against it," an Iranian official told Tasnim.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
FIRE RAGES outside the grounds of the US Embassy headquarters in Baghdad’s fortified ‘Green Zone’ earlier this week, following a drone and rocket attack according to security officials. Iraq was drawn into the Middle East war after having long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

In Iraq, Iran’s proxy militias open a third front in war against the US and Israel

BEHIND THE LINES: Statistics indicate that a determined Iranian and allied campaign is indeed underway in Iraq, making the country a third front in the current war.

|ByJONATHAN SPYER

Libya’s proxy war comes out in the open

Turkey and UAE support different sides as foreign weapons flow into conflict.

JUNE 29, 2019BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Libyan National Army (LNA) members, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, head out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019

PM: Israel will help open narrow strait in Red Sea if Iran closes it

In a multi-front confrontation, he said, “we’ll be less selective, and the damage to our enemies will be more difficult. I hope they will take this into account.”

AUGUST 2, 2018ByHERB KEINON
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a Likud faction meeting, July 2 2018

Iran vs Saudi Arabia: The Next Middle-Eastern Conflict

JANUARY 4, 2017ByAJ GOLDMAN
The Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem-Astana ties on upswing as Kazakhstan poised to join Security Council

The central Asian nation is interested, the officials said, in tapping into Israel’s experience with homeland security and border vigilance.

AUGUST 23, 2016ByHERB KEINON
A general view of Akorda, the official residence of Kazakhstan's President, in Astana, Kazakhstan.