Current attacks across the Middle East

[Machericoco]

Please can someone explain to me in simple terms, what is happening in the Middle East with Iran/Yemen/Iraq/Pakistan - why are they at wars with each other and how does this play into Israel/Hamas war.

I have been on here for many years but I've name changed as I'm embarrassed that I don't know or understand much about it.

Thank you.

The Houthis in Yemen are attacking ships passing through the Bab Al Mandeb strait and the Red Sea. They claim they are attacking ships connected with or bound for Israel as retaliation for the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. They now seem to be attacking other ships which is making war risk insurance for merchant shipping expensive. Large numbers of ships are now sailing around Africa to avoid being attacked but this is adding 10 - 14 days to their journeys with all the expense and logistical headaches this involves. Egypt will lose significant revenue from the reduced traffic in the Suez Canal and the global economy will be affected.
The YouTube channel "what's going on with shipping" is really useful for more information about this if you can tolerate geeky discussions about TEU's!

The Houthis are an armed militia who started a civil war to overthrow the Yemeni government but now control large parts of the country and although they are not the internationally recognised government they do seem to be part of the defacto government for large parts of northern Yemen. They are alleged to be Iranian proxies and they are indeed supported and supplied by Iran but the more I read about them the less convinced I am that they do Iran's bidding.

Iran claims they have targeted Israeli spy networks in Syria and Iraq as well as terrorists. Some people claim that they have launched these attacks as a warning and demonstration to both Israel and the US that they possess long range missiles. The US still has bases and personnel in Syria and Iraq, they have recently be asked to leave Iraq but are refusing.

Both Iran and Pakistan claim that they have been targeting terrorists in each countries border regions (a long standing problem). Pakistan has retaliated strongly to Iran's attack but neither country is talking about cutting diplomatic relations and in fact they were conducting join naval training operations shortly before Iran launched missiles and generally seem to have a cordial relationship. Iran's attack on Pakistan doesn't seem to make much sense so I'm waiting for more information.

I've observed a repeating pattern of headlines based on incomplete information but by the time more information becomes available people have lost interest and moved on so incorrect assumptions persist. Using different sources for news and information is the best you can do to inform yourself.

This is a very basic explanation of what's currently going on but it's a big escalation and should be very worrying for all of us.

Jordan also involved...killed several people (mostly women and children) including these two girls In Syria supposedly after 'drug dealers'.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/14/irans-axis-of-resistance-is-a-potent-coalition-but-a-risky-strategy

Thank you all for the info I'll have a read.

The US traditionally back Pakistan, so this is worrying

1. Iran is Shia and most Muslims are Sunni. These two sects hate each other like catholics and Protestants (used to).
2. Iran funds, Hamas, who are a Sunni terrorist organisation. A lot of evidence indicates that Iran helped to plan the October 7 massacre.
3. Iran also funds, Hezbollah who are similar to Hamas But Shia, and they operate from Lebanon.
4. Yemen has a long running Civil War, in which part of the country is government controlled and part is controlled by the Houthis.
5. The houthis are backed by iran, and the government is backed by Saudi Arabia, who are in turn, allies of the US.
6. About 60% of Yemen are Sunni and the rest are Shia. I’ll leave you to work out, which are which based on the allegiances as noted above.
7. the Houthis flag reads ‘death to Israel, death to the US, curse the Jews’
8. Either, because of prompting by Iran, or off their own backs, the Houthis started bombing cargo ships that were passing by that country. They claimed this was to stop Israel from attacking Gaza
9. Iran claims to have attacked terrorists in Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated by bombing terrorists in Iran.
10. Pakistan is a US Ally ostensibly, and Sunni,
11. Yhe Pakistani government and the Pakistani military are two very separate entities. Remember, bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan. The Taliban also came from Pakistan.