The risk of a broader Middle East war is rising | Christopher S Chivvis

Pressure is mounting on Biden to strike the Houthis, but that could mean war across Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran

Since 7 October the world has been horrified by the gruesome fighting between Israel and Gaza. But the war could still get much worse.

Iran's proxy in Yemen, the Houthis, have been firing missiles and drones at commercial shipping and naval vessels and at southern Israel for weeks now. Global markets are spooked as the danger to shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait rises.

Christopher S Chivvis is the director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace