When the US and Israel launched a war of aggression(侵略战争) against Iran in late February, Tehran’s allies in the Middle East jumped into the fray. Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia(民兵组织) fired rockets at Israel, while Shia militias in Iraq attacked US bases and diplomatic outpost(前哨据点)s. But the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, mostly stayed on the sidelines.
今年2月底，美国和以色列对伊朗发动侵略战争时，德黑兰在中东的盟友纷纷卷入战局。黎巴嫩真主党民兵向以色列发射火箭弹，伊拉克的什叶派民兵则袭击美军基地和外交据点。但控制也门大片地区的胡塞武装，基本上按兵不动。
Over the past few weeks, however, the Houthis have changed their tactics and have entered the conflict in full force(全力投入). They led a rapid advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, seizing a strategic port city and several islands that gave the militia control over the Bab al-Mandab strait(海峡), a vital waterway for energy shipments and other global trade. Thanks to Donald Trump’s war, Iran and its allies now dominate the Middle East’s two major regional energy chokepoint(咽喉要道)s: Bab al-Mandab and the strait of Hormuz(中东两大能源咽喉).
然而过去几周，胡塞武装改变了策略，全力投入冲突。他们沿也门红海海岸快速推进，夺取了一座战略港口城市和数座岛屿，从而控制了曼德海峡——这条对能源运输和全球贸易至关重要的水道。多亏特朗普发动的战争，伊朗及其盟友如今掌控了中东两大地区性能源咽喉：曼德海峡和霍尔木兹海峡。
And Trump’s misadventure(冒险、不幸的举动) in Iran has unleashed other unintended consequences(意想不到的后果): it has rekindle(重新点燃)d Yemen’s civil war, and a related years-long conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. In recent days, the Houthis have expanded their offensive(攻势) beyond the Red Sea coastline, targeting two provinces in Yemen’s eastern region, which is home to the country’s largest oil and gas fields. Those areas, including the resource-rich Marib province, are under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia.(这些地区，包括资源丰富的马里卜省，目前由沙特支持、国际公认的也门政府控制。) If the Houthis can capture those regions, it would be their biggest territorial advance in more than a decade.
特朗普在伊朗的冒险还引发了其他意想不到的后果：重新点燃了也门内战，以及胡塞武装与沙特之间持续多年的相关冲突。近些天，胡塞武装已将攻势扩展到红海海岸线以外，瞄准也门东部地区的两个省，那里拥有全国最大的油气田。这些地区，包括资源丰富的马里卜省，目前由沙特支持、国际公认的也门政府控制。如果胡塞武装能拿下这些地区，将是他们十多年来最大的领土扩张。