Attacks on shipping threaten to upend peace talks in Yemen

NOT LONG ago the Saudis might have welcomed a Western show of force against the , a Shia rebel group that has fought against a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since 2015. Yet today, as America forms its own coalition to stop Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, it is the Saudis urging caution: they fear efforts to escape their war in Yemen could be spoilt.Since mid-November the Houthis have attacked at least a dozen vessels in the Red Sea, either by firing missiles and drones, or by attempting to hijack them. Stirred up by the war in Gaza, the group claims it targets ships with ties to Israel. But its attacks seem increasingly random. One missile strike in December hit a Norwegian-flagged, Indian-crewed tanker carrying vegetable oil from Malaysia to Italy.