Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July 2026, conducting strikes against Saudi oil tankers, energy infrastructure, and airports.

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The Wall Street Journal reported that increased military assistance and front-line guidance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps helped Yemen's Houthi rebels take control of Yemen's Red Sea coast.

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Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy was charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy used his electrical engineering expertise to test solar generators, modify power systems, create circuit schematics, and provide technical guidance to improve Houthi communications.

In September 2025, Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy used an official passport from his former role with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to travel to Oman and cross into Yemen.

If convicted of attempting to provide material support to the Houthis, Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy communicated with an undercover FBI confidential source posing as a representative of a Houthi colonel who was seeking communications equipment.

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy told FBI informants that he had to be smuggled into and out of Yemen and was ultimately unable to reach the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa.

U.S. President Donald Trump told advisers on September 16, 2026, that he opposed airstrikes against the Houthis, but reversed himself on September 17, 2026, ordering the Pentagon to prepare airstrikes against Houthis

A U.S. decision to strike Houthi targets in Yemen risks opening another front in a war against Iran that Trump started, which has spread economic shocks globally

U.S. President Donald Trump decided by midday on September 20, 2026, that the United States would not conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for the time being.

The Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen took advantage of Middle East instability to reignite its military conflict with Saudi Arabia during the summer of 2026.

Saudi Arabia repeatedly appealed to the United States for military assistance to help blunt the rapid advancement of Houthi forces in Yemen.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S. President Donald Trump on September 17, 2026, to implore him to intervene militarily against advancing Houthi forces.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group launched missile and drone strikes targeting the Saudi capital of Riyadh on September 19, 2026, causing a large fire near King Khalid International Airport.

Houthi military gains along the Red Sea coast have placed their forces on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, enabling them to control shipping and blockade the waterway.

The lifting of United States sanctions on Eritrea coincided with rising security concerns in the Red Sea, where recent Houthi advances in Yemen have threatened shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The proposed F-35 sale comes as Saudi Arabia faces intensifying missile and drone attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.