but why the flare up now? all of these things are interconnected, and that s why it s really dangerous right now. so the big question now is, could this red sea conflict become the next war in the middle east? first of all, let s start by looking at what has actually been happening in the red sea. in mid november, 2023, the houthis, an iranian backed rebel group in yemen, began targeting commercial shipping off their coast. so, who exactly are the houthis and what is it motivating them? the houthis, who are a so called rebel group in yemen, they hail from the north west of yemen. they have been very active in this area for about a decade. it s only now that we re noticing because our global trade is being impacted. they hijacked this ship called the galaxy leader and they fired missiles and drones at others. us and british warships went to their defence. the houthis vowed revenge. the world economy, every economy will suffer if ships keep coming under attack in this illegal