CAIRO (AP) — A missile attack on Israel by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday raises concern that Tehran's proxies may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes, as Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz keeps another key global trade passage virtually closed.
The Houthis said they fired a barrage of missiles at “sensitive Israeli military sites” in southern Israel, their first since the start of the war in the Middle East a month ago. The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
When asked about the Houthis, Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin replied: "We are preparing for a multifront war.”
The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance," which includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. They control the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and much of the country’s north, and since 2014 have fought a civil war against the internationally recognized government that is backed by a Saudi-led coalition.
Unlike Lebanon’s Hezbollah and militant groups in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen had held back for a month since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
Now that they have entered the war with a missile attack on Israel, there are growing concerns that they could start attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Such a move would further disrupt the maritime industry and the global economy since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and energy prices. The rebels also have the capability of striking oil facilities in the Persian Gulf as they did previously during the Yemen civil war.
The Houthis said they won’t allow the U.S. and Israel to use the Red Sea for attacks on Iran. “Our fingers are on the trigger,” Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a statement Friday.
The Houthi attacks on vessels would not only further push up oil prices but destabilize “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “The impact would not be limited to the energy market.”
Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
The 32-kilometer (20-mile)-wide strait is one of the busiest for global oil trade. A fourth of global container trade also transits through the strait on its way to and from the Suez Canal. Disrupting transit through Bab al-Madab forces shipping firms to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, as they did in 2024 and 2025, significantly increasing costs.
About 12% of the world’s trade typically passes through Suez, including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to electronics.
“It would be devastating for so many countries,” Nagi said. “If we see more pressure on the Iranians, or there’s any escalation, the Houthis will jump in harshly."
Such attacks will add more pressure on energy supplies for the 27-nation European Union, which relies on imported natural gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes. Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas — which is supercooled to travel by ship instead of pipeline — routinely pass through the Red Sea.
The Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January 2025, and also launched projectiles at Israel. They said their attacks were in support of Hamas during the war in Gaza.
The U.S. and Israel responded with a punishing air campaign across the Houthi-held areas in Yemen, which killed many people, including most of the Houthi-allied Cabinet in Sanaa. President Donald Trump halted U.S. strikes on the Houthis after a deal that saw the rebels stopping their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Beirut contributed to this report.
Houthi supporters shout slogans during a rally against Israel and the United States' war in Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
BOSTON (AP) — The USS Massachusetts officially joined the Navy fleet on Saturday after a commissioning ceremony, making it the first submarine named after the Bay State.
The newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, which can dive to depths greater than 800 feet (240 meters), was christened on May 6, 2023, by the ship’s sponsor, Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Meta. This is the 25th Virginia-Class submarine co-produced by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel named after Massachusetts.
“To be able to take a ship from new construction and watch it be built together by the ship yard, train with our team and bring into Boston Harbor for the first time, it's very amazing,” the sub's commanding officer, Mike Siedsma, a 21-year Navy veteran who has spent time on four different classes of submarines, said Friday ahead of the ceremony. “I looked at the history books. I don't think we've had a submarine in Boston Harbor since sometime in the late ’80s or early ’90s.”
During Saturday's commission ceremony on the Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the event showcases the state's “deep ties to our nation’s maritime and military history, and we are proud to see that legacy continue with this next generation of service.”
“The commissioning of the USS Massachusetts is a proud moment for Massachusetts and our country, especially as we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation," she said. “This ship carries forward a long tradition of service and reflects the strength and dedication of the sailors who will serve aboard it.”
Siedsma did not say where the sub — which cost over $2.8 billion, weighs about 8,000 tons and can carry 24 Tomahawk cruise missiles — is headed. A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this month in the war with Iran.
“The geopolitical situation is very interesting,” Siedsma said. “What is important to remember is what we are doing is proving the power of the United States Navy."
The crew of 147 also includes 39 women, 16 years after a ban on women serving on submarines was lifted. The USS New Jersey, which was commissioned in 2024, was the first sub designed and built with modifications for a gender-integrated crew.
“The ship is intentionally designed to be served on by both women and men. That is pretty exciting. Twenty five percent of this crew is female,” Sandberg said. “Those sailors just don't inspire me. They inspire every little girl out there to believe that she could do anything.”
This is the fifth Navy vessel named after the state. The first was the USS Massachusetts, a steamer built in 1845. The last was USS Massachusetts, BB 59, commissioned in 1942 as a South Dakota-class fast battleship. Most of its time was spent in the Pacific during World War II.
For Sandberg, the commissioning also brought to mind the role the state has played in the founding of the United States and how “people are still fighting for the same freedoms that the original colonists were fighting for.”
Reporters touring the sub on Friday were led past the control room, down into the torpedo room and into the dining hall. The ward room, where officers eat, also features a mug rack featuring wood from counties in Massachusetts. It was donated by “This Old House,” the television home improvement show.
“It was an incredible donation. Very great connection to the state and the commonwealth,” Siedsma said. “It's beautiful.”
A sailors runs to board the USS Massachusetts during a rehearsal ahead of the commissioning of the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sailors work in the countermeasures department of the Torpedo Room on the USS Massachusetts, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A torpedo chamber is seen on USS Massachusetts, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sailors stand at attention on the USS Massachusetts during a rehearsal ahead of the commissioning of the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sailors stand at attention on the USS Massachusetts during a rehearsal ahead of the commissioning of the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A sailor stands guard next to the sail of the USS Massachusetts, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sheryl Sandberg, the ship sponsor of the USS Massachusetts, attends a rehearsal ahead of the commissioning of the Navy's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
