Overview
- Over the weekend U.S. forces moved to the brink of strikes on Iran‑aligned Houthi targets with approved target lists and bombs loaded before President Trump ordered the operation put on hold.
- Iran’s central military command publicly warned that any renewed U.S. assault would prompt sustained and “painful” attacks on U.S. bases and that countries aiding strikes would be treated as complicit.
- Houthi leaders told U.S. contacts they would not target American vessels in the Red Sea and said they will keep the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait open while continuing missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets.
- The Mecca defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan is being tested as Turkey offers military support to Riyadh and Pakistan so far signals restraint, adding pressure to regional collective‑defence choices.
- CENTCOM continues to enforce a U.S. naval posture that has redirected more than 100 commercial vessels and left shipping, oil flows and diplomatic mediation over frozen funds and blockades at the center of any de‑escalation talks.