It is the new frontline of a bitter proxy war between the US and Iran, and is already holding one the world’s most important shipping routes to ransom. With the demise of Hamas and Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansarallah – better known as the Houthis – now represent Tehran’s last effective weapon against President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure “ policy.

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khatemei defiantly denied that the Houthis were a proxy following last weekend’s US air strikes. But intelligence from opposition group PMOI-MEK/NCRI inside Iran shows this is far from true. Considered a motley militia until Yemen’s 2014 Civil War, Houthis now command a sophisticated arsenal of hypersonic anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles, aerial and martime Kamikaze drones and guidance systems.

Those missiles are made by Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organisation – owned by the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which also offers training.

Weapons are delivered to Persian Gulf countries by sea to be transported overland to Yemen.

One method is to hide them in giant GPS-transmitting ship fenders which are cast adrift on the high seas, intercepted by other vessels and taken to their destination.

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This comprehensive programme of technical and military assistance is coordinated by IRGC Brigadier General Abdolreza Shahlai.

A protege of Iran’s architect of regional malfeasance Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by Trump in 2020, 65-year-old Gen Shahlai was responsible for terror attacks against US forces in Iraq, coordinated a thwarted plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington Adel Al-Jubeir and currently has a £12m bounty on his head.

Having narrowly missed being killed by Trump in 2020, his war is personal.

Based at Quds Force headquarters in Tehran, Gen Shahlai is supported by a band of bandit brigadiers including Brigadier General Ismail Qaani, commander-in-chief of the IRGC Quds force, and his deputy, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh, who formerly commanded IRGC forces in Syria.

A more junior IRGC officer, Abu Fatemeh, is in charge of coordinating logistics.

General policy in Yemen is set by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, but every decision requires authorisation by Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

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And the stakes are high.

Traditionally, around 12% of global trade – worth $1 trillion per year – steams through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the quickest maritime route connecting Europe and Asia.

With 145 attacks on merchant vessels since November 2023, 70% of those shipments are now detouring around southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding some 3,500 nautical miles and 10 days travel time in the biggest disruption to international trade since the global pandemic.

Unsurprisingly, Iran allies China and Russia are exempt from attacks, offering Beijing a massive trading advantage.

“Iran needs more than ever to demonstrate its power to the US and so will increase the Houthis’ usefulness,” said Megan Sutcliffe, of the Sibylline strategic risk group.

But their days may be numbered.

Unlike President Joe Biden, who limited US airstrikes to military installations, Trump has vowed to ​”completely annihilate” the terror group, which has also fired rockets towards Israel.

​Ms Sutcliffe added: “Trump will be conducting a campaign of strikes​; something that is sustained​ without a definite end​.”

Shahin Gobadi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, told The Sun: “The mullahs’ regime is the head of the snake of war and crisis in the region.

“It has survived on pervasive repression of the Iranian people and export of crises, belligerence, and terrorism.

“Exporting terrorism, extremism, and belligerence is part of the clerical regime’s DNA, and as long as it is in power, the region will not see peace and tranquility.”

He added: “The Iranian people’s desire and the only solution to the Iranian crisis is the regime’s overthrow by the Iranian people.

“But overthrowing the regime does not happen by itself, and an organised resistance and a force on the ground are the necessary elements to do the job.”

A European country that borders Russia could be expanding its nuclear capabilities at it seeks further protection for its adversaries. Poland has repeatedly stressed the need to advance its defence systems, including by adopting nuclear weapons.

Both Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda have called for military expansion, particularly in the face of the threat posed by Russia. Earlier this month, Mr Tusk said he was “taking seriously” dsicussions with France about being protected by its nuclear weapons.

He added: “We must be aware that Poland must reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … This is a race for security, not for war.”

This comes under Poland’s large scale drive to increase the size of its army, including by making every man undergo military training.

Mr Tusk said: “By the end of the year, we want to have a model ready so that every adult male in Poland is trained for war, and so that this reserve is adequate for possible threats.”

Polish President Duda also called for the US to base nuclear weapons in his country as a “deterrent” to Vladimir Putin earlier this month. He said the move would make Poland safer as Russia currently presents a very real threat, calling it as aggressive as the Soviet Union.

Though this could be viewed by Putin as a provocation, it would be in response to Russia storing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders Poland.

Mr Duda told the BBC: “It’s the same Russia that’s attacking Ukraine today, who is an aggressor, who is murdering civilians, who is bombing down civilian settlements. And it’s moving its nuclear weapons from the depths of Russia to Belarus.

“This defensive tactic is a vital response to Russia‘s behaviour, relocating nuclear weapons in the NATO area. Poland is ready to host this nuclear weapon.”

The president, also the commander-in-chief of the Polish armed forces, said US nuclear weapons would make his country safer by strengthening Washington’s commitment to its security.

He said: “Every strategic kind of infrastructure, American and NATO infrastructure, which we have on our soil is strengthening the inclination of the US and the North Atlantic Alliance to defend this territory.”

Safety fears have erupted in Gibraltar after two giant ships crashed when departing the British Overseas Territory’s waters. The LNG carrier SM Kestrel made contact with the anchored bulk carrier Diamond Star II while manoeuvring in the bay at around 1pm on Monday despite being equipped with “state of the art vessel tracking technology”.

The ship was attempting to exit the western anchorage. Both ships are now undergoing damage inspection and remain at the anchorage until further notice. No injuries were reported and no pollution occurred, and neither vessel suffered significant damage, according to Gibraltar authorities.

An investigation has been launched into how the ships bumped into each other, sparking debate over the need for a pilot when departing Gibraltar’s congested waters, the Olive Press reports.

Currently, vessels departing Gibraltar’s waters do not require a pilot to be on board. Gibraltar’s regulations only require pilots for berthing and unberthing and not for departing the anchorage. 

Earlier this year Gibraltar’s maritime authority called for compulsory use of pilots for vessels in the anchorage after Bulk Carrier OS 35 IMO9172399 collided with the LNG tanker ADAM LNG in 2022.

The ship was loaded with 183 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, 250 tonnes of diesel and 27 tonnes of lube oil. It was carrying 24 crew. At the time tugs were deployed and booms were placed around the vessel to contain oil spills.

The incident happened as the OS 35 manoeuvred between Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay to leave Gibraltar for Vlissengen in the Netherlands.

A report into the accident says the incident occurred due to poor planning and that the captain misjudged the maneuver resulting in the casualty concluding a pilot very likely would have prevented the incident.

“The master of OS 35 made an error of judgment, which was not detected by the bridge team,” concludes the report. “Had a pilot been embarked, it is considered very likely that an alternative maneuver would have been used to depart the anchorage, which would not have included the prolonged astern maneuver. Had a pilot been aboard, it is considered very likely that the collision would have been prevented.”