Houthis Enter War Attacking Israel as Iran ‘Hits US Ship’; Americans Wounded (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Yemen’s Houthis officially entered the widening Middle East war on Saturday by launching an attack on Israel, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck a U.S. logistics vessel near Oman, amid fresh reports of American casualties.

A spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters said Iranian forces targeted an American military support ship “at a considerable distance” from the Port of Salalah. Iran said it respects Oman’s sovereignty. There was no immediate confirmation from U.S. officials.

The IRGC is Iran’s powerful elite military force tasked with protecting the Islamic Republic and projecting its influence abroad.

Separately, at least 12 U.S. troops were injured—five seriously—in an overnight Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, according to several sources. The U.S. military has not publicly commented.

Officials say that since the war began on February 28, more than 300 American personnel have been wounded and at least 13 U.S. service members killed in the region, underscoring the growing risks to U.S. forces.

US CASUALTIES MOUNT

In a major escalation, the Iran-backed Houthis said they launched ballistic missiles toward Israel early Saturday, marking their first direct involvement since the start of the war.

Israel said it identified a missile launched from Yemen, with air defenses activated. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Houthis said the attack came in response to “continued targeting of infrastructure in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories,” adding their operations would continue until U.S.-Israeli “aggression” ends.

Their entry heightens fears of a broader regional war, given their ability to strike long-range targets and disrupt key shipping routes.

Emboldened by the entry of the Houthis into the conflict, Iran said it launched retaliatory strikes against Gulf Arab states and Israel following U.S.-Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities and key industrial targets, including steel plants.

HOUTHI ESCALATION RAISES FEARS

Iranian media reported operations at Khuzestan Steel Company were halted after multiple sites were hit, underscoring the growing economic toll of the war.

Despite retaliatory strikes, Israel continued attacking targets in Tehran and elsewhere. Clashes also persisted in Lebanon involving Hezbollah, which said it had targeted Israeli troops and positions, including drone and rocket strikes on forces and armored vehicles in border areas such as Debel and nearby sectors.

Hezbollah also claimed it inflicted “heavy losses” on Israeli forces, though these battlefield claims could not be independently verified.

The crisis has intensified pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies normally pass.

However, some movement resumed, with India-bound LPG tankers—carrying liquefied petroleum gas, a key fuel used for heating, cooking, and industry—exiting the Gulf, while Thailand said it secured assurances from Iran allowing its vessels safe passage.

HORMUZ STRAIT DISRUPTION

Speaking in Miami, U.S. President Donald J. Trump criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not supporting the war effort and for hesitating to help reopen the strategic waterway while fighting continues.

“They were just not there,” Trump said, adding the United States does not necessarily have to defend allies that fail to reciprocate.

He also referred to the waterway as the “Strait of Trump—I mean Hormuz,” later suggesting the remark was intentional.

European allies pushed back, stressing the conflict is not a NATO mission and signaling hesitation to join military efforts during active fighting, while supporting efforts to secure shipping routes after a ceasefire.

In a joint statement, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan said they were ready to contribute to ensuring safe passage through the strait, while emphasizing that freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law.

UKRAINE DENIES IRAN CLAIMS

As tensions rose, Ukraine denied Iranian claims that Tehran had struck a depot in the United Arab Emirates housing Ukrainian anti-drone systems, calling the report “a lie.”

“This is a lie, we officially refute this information,” Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said, accusing Tehran of conducting “disinformation operations.”

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya command had earlier claimed it destroyed a facility in the UAE used to support U.S. forces.

The dispute comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Gulf states to secure defense cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, including on air defense. Ukraine has increasingly shared anti-drone expertise—developed while countering Iranian-designed drones used by Russia—with Gulf nations.

WAR TIMELINE REMAINS UNCERTAIN

Despite escalating fighting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expects the campaign to conclude within “weeks, not months.” He added: “When we are done with them here in the next couple weeks, they will be weaker than they’ve been in recent history.”

Yet the war is now about one month in, with no clear resolution in sight as fighting spreads across multiple fronts, critics say.

The escalating conflict has also rattled global markets, with major U.S. stock indexes posting sharp losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 1.7%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite slid about 2%, as investors reacted to rising oil prices and fears of prolonged disruption linked to the Strait of Hormuz.

More than 3,000 people have been killed across the Middle East since the war began, according to officials and media reports, including over 1,900 in Iran and at least 1,100 in Lebanon.

Separately, the United Nations human rights chief called for a swift investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in southern Iran on Friday, where local officials said scores of people—many of them children—were killed.

“By the time we arrived, the entire school had collapsed on top of the children,” one mother told broadcaster NBC News. “People were pulling out children… People were pulling out severed heads.”

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