Houthis Push Territorial Gains as Yemen Conflict Intensifies

In the fractured landscape of Yemen, where civil war long ago became a theater for regional ambitions, Iranian-backed Houthi forces pressed forward Sunday with a major offensive against government troops aligned with Saudi Arabia. The assault was not a single battle but a strategic assertion — an effort to convert military momentum into lasting political geography. Years into a conflict that has resisted resolution, the fighting reflects the deeper rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh, two powers using Yemen as a proving ground for influence neither is willing to surrender.