Thousands flee renewed fighting as Iran-aligned group seeks to consolidate territorial gains against Saudi-backed government forces

As the U.S. conflict with Iran drags, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have opened a new front, taking new territory and displacing more than 100,000 people.

The U.S. opted not to intervene as Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized a major choke point for Saudi oil shipments on the Red Sea.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - G7 foreign ministers on Monday called on Iran to end its arming and support of Houthis in Yemen, which they said constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation that risked undermining international trade and creating global instability.

Ministers demand an end to maritime shipping attacks and urge Iran to stop arming the Yemeni group.

The Iran-backed Houthis have targeted international shipping lanes.

How did the Houthis rise from a small group of Yemeni rebels to a major regional force with the power to disrupt global fuel supplies?

Fighting intensifies as US media say Trump called off strikes against Houthis at the last minute on Sunday.

WASHINGTON — U.S. military leaders are divided on whether President Donald Trump should get involved with the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to two U.

Dramatic recent advances by the Iran-backed Houthis, including the seizure of a strategically important island in the Red Sea, have dealt another blow to a region reeling from the US war with Iran and exacerbated an already severe global energy crisis.