US-led strikes on Yemeni rebels draw attention back to war raging in Arab world’s poorest nation

U.S.-led airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels over their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea pulled the world's focus Friday back on the yearslong war raging in the Arab world's poorest nation, even as shipping across the wider Mideast remains threatened. As the bombing lit the predawn sky over multiple sites held by the Iranian-backed rebels, Saudi Arabia quickly sought to distance itself from the attacks as it seeks to maintain a delicate détente with Iran and a cease-fire in the Yemen war from which it hopes to finally withdraw. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy acknowledged an attack days earlier on a ship in the far reaches of the Indian Ocean — an attack that may signal Iran's willingness to strike vessels as part of a wider maritime campaign over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.