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CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have so far remained on the sidelines as the Iran war widens across the Middle East, raising questions about why — and when the battle-hardened group might join the fight.

Iran has retaliated against the United States and Israel with missiles and drones, targeting American military bases and other locations in Gulf Arab countries, disrupting trade routes, choking fuel supplies and threatening regional air traffic.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested on Thursday in his first written statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the war’s opening salvo, that Iran may open up new fronts in the conflict — a sign, analysts say, the Houthis may get involved soon.

Until now, the Houthis have been reluctant to fight, fearing assassinations of their leaders, internal divisions in Yemen and uncertainties over weapons supplies, the experts said.

But that may change as Iran seeks to increase pressure on global oil supply routes through potential attacks by the Houthis, who have had previous success targeting oil facilities in the region, the analysts said.

Iran has asserted its influence across the Middle East through its proxy forces in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen’s Houthis.

Some of its closest allies have already joined the conflict, with Hezbollah resuming strikes on Israel within two days of the attack on Iran — and just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended in a November 2024 ceasefire. Militias linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have claimed drone strikes on U.S. bases in Irbil.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have only held protests and issued declarations condemning the Iran war, in contrast to the waves of missile and drone attacks they launched on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

Here’s a look at the Houthis’ military capabilities and where they stand in the conflict.

Houthi ties to Iran

Armed by Iran, the Houthis seized most of Yemen’s north and its capital, Sanaa, in 2014, pushing the country’s internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government entered the conflict the following year, and the Houthis have since fought a long-running but largely stalemated civil war in Yemen.

While the Houthis share some political and religious ties with Iran, they follow a different doctrine of Shiite Islam and are independent of Iran’s supreme leader, unlike the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and several Iran-backed Iraqi militias.

Still, they are key to Iran’s regional influence and the current war is unlikely to weaken that, according to Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank.

“From Tehran’s perspective, the Houthis have proven themselves to be a capable and effective front, able to generate real pressure,” Nagi said.

He said the Houthi leaders’ decision to distance themselves from the conflict is a calculated choice that has been fully coordinated with the Iranians.

Two Houthi members of the group’s media and political offices told The Associated Press that the rebels’ weapons stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.

Still, the group has a large stockpile of drones, said another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the weapons issue, about which he is well-informed.

Nagi said the Houthis appear to be building up their forces by recruiting more fighters, relying on local weapons production and sending reinforcements to Yemen’s western coastline on the Red Sea, signaling they are preparing for escalation.

“The decision is not about unwillingness to intervene, but about timing,” Nagi said. “Iran’s broader strategy seems to be to avoid throwing all its cards on the table at once, instead using its partners and capabilities gradually as the confrontation evolves.”

The Houthis are likely to step in if the conflict widens, Nagi added, or if they perceive an existential threat to Iran, such as significant deterioration in military capabilities.

Houthis have targeted oil shipping and infrastructure

Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has repeatedly emphasized the group is ready to intervene, claiming their “hands are on the trigger,” though its unclear what that involvement would entail.

″Houthis, of course, are always ready for any war,” said Farea al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London. “Some weaponry moved in different areas inside Yemen recently … but it’s still not clear whether it’s for a military escalation.”

If the Houthis enter the war, they will most likely resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while also striking Israel, Nagi said. They could also join Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries, targeting U.S. military assets and interests.

Attacks on vessels during the Israel-Hamas war upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion worth of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels also fired drones at Israel.

Should the Houthis join the Iran war, their primary targets would likely be oil tankers, the analysts said, since shipping offers the most immediate pressure point and attacking it would signal escalation while impacting energy supply chains.

Attacks on oil installations could also be considered. The Houthis have previously struck oil facilities in Saudi Arabia during their long-running conflict against the Saudi-led coalition.

Meanwhile, U.S. military sites in the region might also become targets, Nagi said.

What’s at risk

Abdel-Bari Taher, a political analyst and former head of the press syndicate in Yemen, said any decision to join the war is impacted by the internal situation in Yemen, including recent deadly clashes in south Yemen, public opposition in Sanaa to joining the war and heightened caution among Houthi leaders after high-profile assassinations.

The two Houthi officials from the group’s media and political offices said the U.S. has sent warnings via Omani mediators against participating in the war. They said Houthi political and security leaders have also been alerted that their cellphones are under surveillance by the U.S. and Israel. Fearing potential Israeli assassinations, Houthi leaders have been instructed not to appear in public, the officials said.

″Despite these constraints and the complex domestic and regional dynamics, Houthi involvement in the conflict remains a possibility,” Taher said.

Al-Muslimi, the Chatham House analyst, said the Houthis don’t have the military capabilities or an internal Yemeni interest that would force them to join the war, and the group seems committed to a ceasefire with the U.S. that was brokered by Oman last year.

“They hope to fight, especially with Israel, but they can’t be the ones to fire the first shot,” al-Muslimi said.

He said the Houthis would likely need a local Yemeni cause to join the fighting — a reason that would strengthen support among their local base.

Notes al-Muslimi: The Houthis “are a local group that Iran uses and supports, but didn’t create.”

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Associated Press journalist Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, contributed to this report.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. bombed military sites Friday on an island vital to Iran’s oil network, while an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the war with the Islamic Republic.

Trump said U.S. forces “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island — home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports — and warned that the island’s oil infrastructure could be next. Just a day before, the speaker of the Iranian parliament said such a strike would provoke a new level of retaliation.

Earlier Friday in the Iranian capital, a large explosion rocked a central square where thousands of people gathered for an annual state-organized rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.

There were no reports of casualties. The decision to proceed with the demonstration attended by some senior government officials, and Israel’s threat to target it, underscored the fierce determination on both sides in a war that has rattled the global economy and shows no sign of letting up.

Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon deepened, with nearly 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and warned there would be no let up.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.” He was also more measured about whether Iranians could topple the Islamic government.

“So I really think that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons,” Trump said, citing Iran’s paramilitary Basij force, which has played a central role in crushing recent nationwide protests.

Marines and assault ship will add to US forces

Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East, according to the U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Marine Expeditionary Units are able to conduct amphibious landings, but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief. The deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place.

The new Marine deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines, are based in Japan and have been in the Pacific Ocean for several days, according to images released by the military. The Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing alone near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away from the waters off Iran.

Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers, operating in the Arabian Sea. Should the Tripoli join this flotilla, it would be the second-largest ship behind the Lincoln in the region.

While the total number of U.S. service members on the ground in the Middle East is not clear, Al-Udeid Air Base alone, one of the largest in the region, typically houses some 8,000 U.S. troops in Qatar.

US strikes Persian Gulf island after Iran’s warning

The U.S. strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf targeted military sites but left alone its oil infrastructure for now, Trump said in a social media post.

But he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he will reconsider his decision not to “wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.”

On Thursday, the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in a social media post that attacks on the islands on Iran’s southern maritime frontier would cause Iran to “abandon all restraint,” underscoring how central they are to the country’s economy and security.

Explosion rocks area of mass demonstration

The explosion in Tehran rocked the Ferdowsi Square area midday, where thousands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally, chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast. But few Iranians would have seen it, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet. Footage showed people chanting “God is greatest,” as smoke rose in the area.

The Israeli military later posted a second message in Farsi, noting the head of Iran’s judiciary was at the rally and criticizing Iran for blocking many from seeing their warning.

The hard-liner who leads Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, was giving an interview on state television at the demonstration when the strike happened. His bodyguards encircled him, as he raised his fist and said Iran “under this rain and missiles will never withdraw.”

US says 15,000 targets struck in Iran since the start of the war

Israel earlier announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production sites.

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck — more than 1,000 a day since the war began.

He also sought to address concerns about the bottling of the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters: “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”

All six crew of US refueling plane confirmed dead after crash

The U.S. military confirmed on Friday that all six crew members of an American KC-135 refueling plane were killed when it crashed in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll to at least 13 service members.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said three of the victims were from his state and had deployed with the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing.

U.S. Central Command said the crash wasn’t related to friendly or hostile fire, and that two aircraft were involved, including one that landed safely.

The KC-135 is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

New Iranian attacks across the region

Iran continued its daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure across the Gulf. In Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in the Sohar region, the Oman News Agency reported.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile over Turkey on Friday, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing military operations. It was the third such interception over the NATO member in the last two weeks.

Fighting escalates between Israel and Hezbollah

An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon hit a health care center in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah, killing 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early Saturday.

Earlier, at least eight people were killed in a strike on the southern coastal city of Sidon, the ministry said Friday.

The ministry said 773 people — including more than 100 children and 18 paramedics — have been killed since fighting erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants 10 days ago.

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Rising reported from Bangkok. Toropin reported from Washington, and Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writers Sally Abou AlJoud, Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel; Will Weissert at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this story.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — A Lebanese-born man who had learned a week earlier that four of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in his native country, waited in his car outside a synagogue for two hours before ramming into the building where dozens of children were inside.

Authorities said Friday that Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, 41, crashed his car into Temple Israel outside Detroit on Thursday afternoon, then started firing his gun through the windshield, exchanging fire with an armed security guard.

Following the attack Thursday, a person familiar with the matter speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said security guards in the building killed the gunman. Later, authorities said guards “neutralized” him. But Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said during a news conference Friday that ultimately Ghazali fatally shot himself after he got stuck in his vehicle and the engine caught fire. Officials later found large quantities of commercial grade fireworks and several jugs of a liquid believed to be gasoline.

One of the largest Reform synagogues in the US

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues, located in suburban West Bloomfield Township north of Detroit, as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

Runyan said that law enforcement didn’t have enough evidence to call the attack an act of terror at this time, but said that investigations were ongoing.

None of the 140 children, teachers and staff inside the synagogue were injured, authorities said.

The agency has not provided an exact motive for the attack. “We’re just 30 hours into this, and we’re letting the facts and evidence lead,” Runyan said.

Temple Israel had taken steps to prepare for an attack. Last summer, the synagogue announced it was hiring a former local police lieutenant as its full-time head of security to oversee its in-house, armed security guards. Earlier this year, its clergy and staff underwent active shooter prevention and preparedness training, according to a post on Temple Israel’s Facebook page.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin during a news conference Friday praised Temple Israel’s private security for swiftly stopping the attack.

“If they had not all done their jobs almost perfectly, we would be talking about an immense tragedy here with children gone,” Slotkin said.

Ghazali was a father, restaurant cook and US citizen

Ghazali lived in a single-story brick home in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights about 38 miles (61 kilometers) south of the synagogue. On Friday, the front window was boarded, the front door was padlocked and an Amazon package addressed to Ghazali sat on the porch.

“In the four years I’ve lived here, we never really got past pleasantries,” said Chadi Zreik, who lives two houses down. “We all got acquainted with him in the last 24 hours.”

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

His family was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, official says

An Israeli airstrike on March 5 killed four people in the town of Mashgharah, Lebanese officials reported. Israel has stepped up attacks on the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon as the war with Iran has spread violence across the Middle East.

A local official in Mashgharah told the AP on Friday that the airstrike killed Ghazali’s two brothers, a niece and a nephew at their home just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The official, who requested anonymity because he could not publicly discuss details of the airstrike, told the AP that Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali were killed, along with Ibrahim Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima. Their mother was seriously wounded and remains in the hospital, the official said.

A Michigan mosque held a service for his relatives

Dearborn Heights and its larger neighbor, Dearborn, have some of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the U.S. Signs of the culture are everywhere, from restaurants to mosques.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun spoke to reporters Friday about Ghazali losing family members overseas.

“That grief is real and it’s heartbreaking,” Baydoun said, “But there is never an excuse for violence, especially violence directed at a sacred space.’

Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News in Dearborn, said it’s common to hold a memorial service in the U.S. for someone who died overseas. “Sharing feelings always gives you comfort, whether in bad times or good times. You don’t feel like you’re alone,” Siblani said.

A flier last weekend promoted a service for Ghazali’s relatives at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights. The mosque’s leader, Imam Hassan Qazwini, said Friday he had seen Ghazi only once. He strongly condemned the synagogue attack, saying houses of worship should be spared from political violence.

“Islam forbids holding innocent people accountable for acts done by others,” Qazwini said in a text message to an AP reporter. “The unjustified Israeli attack on civilians in Iran and Lebanon gives no blank check to anyone attacking synagogues, civilians and peaceful communities.”

Synagogues and other houses of worship on edge since Iran war

Synagogues around the world have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

At Temple Israel, a security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. And 63 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

More than 600 law enforcement officers responded to the 911 calls on Thursday.

Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there. Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website.

The attack was the second at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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White reported from Detroit. AP journalists Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s “Death Fest” invites people to confront mortality while also offering practical services and spiritual advice for the inevitable.

The unusual fair, now in its second year, has broached the subject that’s uncomfortable for many. It’s also one of the central teachings of Buddhism, which shapes much of Thailand’s culture, about life’s unavoidable sufferings: birth, old age, sickness and death.

Sangduan Ngamvinijaroon attended the three-day event Friday with her mother in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. She said death used to be a difficult subject for her family, but having spent more than 20 years caring for ill family members, including her husband with a stroke and relatives with cancer, she has witnessed several deaths firsthand and now feels more at ease talking about it.

She said she liked the fair because “it’s not just about dying well. It’s also about the present moment and taking good care of our lives while we’re still here.”

The event brought together experts and organizations involved in health care, financial planning, palliative care, funeral services and memorial innovations. Activities and talks focused not only on preparing for death but also on maintaining quality of life until the final days.

“Death involves everybody. It’s not just about you,” said Zcongklod Bangyikhan, editor-in-chief of The Cloud magazine and one of the event’s lead organizers. “Instead of wondering what dying will be like, maybe we should think about how to make things easier for the people who remain after we’re gone.”

One popular exhibit is called “Test Die.” Visitors can lie inside coffins of different sizes and styles while looking at themselves in a mirror suspended above. The experience is designed to prompt reflection rather than fear.

Office worker Phinutda Seehad said it felt calming.

“I don’t think I’m scared of death,” she said. “I also don’t want to die, but when the time comes, I don’t think it will be that frightening.”

One company displayed a biodegradable coffin made from mycelium — the rootlike fibers of fungi — which helps naturally with decomposition.

Founder Jirawan Kumsao said the design reflects a more environmentally friendly approach to burial. Although she brought a human-sized coffin to the event, her company mainly produces coffins for pets.

“It gives people comfort to know they’ve cared for their pets until the very end,” she said. “It looks like a spacecraft, a capsule, for sending them to another world.”

Noppasaward Panyajaray, founder of the online memorial platform Sharesouls, has seen a similar emotional bond. Her service allows users to store photos and share stories about loved ones, creating a digital space where friends and family can leave messages and pay their respects.

She said her original idea was for the platform to preserve memories of family members. But she was surprised to find that many users were creating memorial pages for their pets.

“Many people sent me a message to say thank you, because nowadays we don’t really have any space to store stories or memories about their pets,” she said. “Every pet is meaningful to their owners as much as a family member.”