Could the Fighting Resume? Trump and Netanyahu Hold a "Lengthy and Dramatic" Overnight Call

As the possibility of renewed fighting with Iran looms, officials in Tehran and Yemen are sharpening their rhetoric and sending threatening messages. Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned today (Wednesday) that any return to confrontation with Iran would not remain confined to the current arena, hinting that a future response could expand significantly. The remarks come amid reports that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an overnight phone call described as "lengthy and dramatic."

In a statement they released, the Revolutionary Guards said: "If the aggression against Iran is repeated, the war will spread beyond the borders of the region." They added: "The American-Israeli enemy is once again speaking in threats. We are men of war. See our strength on the battlefield, not in empty declarations and virtual accounts."

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said last night in a filmed statement that he had instructed his forces to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale attack if no agreement acceptable to Iran and the United States is reached. According to him, the United States is not honoring its commitments and has instead chosen, he claimed, to apply pressure through a blockade on Iranian ports, a move that he said is also harming the global economy.

"What matters to Trump is serving Israel before anything else, even before America itself. There are indications of American preparations for escalation after the failure of the previous round," al-Houthi said. He added a warning about the possible consequences of renewed escalation: "Any new escalation will have dangerous consequences for the region in general. We are operating in all areas within our sphere of responsibility." Referring directly to his organization's military preparations, he said: "As for the military level, we are ready, inshallah, for all developments."

Despite the current threats, during Operation "Roar of the Lion," the Houthis chose not to intervene in the fighting in practice. That was despite the fact that senior figures in the organization were making threats at the time about the possibility of joining the campaign.

At the same time, a report in the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" points to practical preparations on the ground by the Houthis. According to the report, the organization has stepped up its recruitment activity among vulnerable populations in areas under its control. Sources cited in the report said the group's operatives expanded their presence in poor neighborhoods in the capital, Sana'a, and in Ibb Province, exploiting the severe economic situation of families and offering food and cash assistance in exchange for recruiting family members into the organization's ranks.

According to those sources, the recruitment campaign is focused mainly on young men and teenagers of African origin, apparently migrants. The report says that dozens of recruits have already been transferred to training camps in the Sana'a area and in Dhamar Province in central Yemen, and were later sent to battlefronts against the forces of Yemen's Saudi-backed government. Their family members testified that many of those joining are doing so not out of ideology, but because of severe economic hardship and a lack of alternatives.