Yemen Announces Maritime Blockade on Saudi Arabia, Nearly 100 US Troops Injured This Month, and More

[00:00:00]Hey, this is Dave Damp from anti-war.com and welcome to Anti-War News. This episode is sponsored by Expat Money and it's about 9:30 on Monday night here in Virginia on the east coast of the US. As we're getting started, let's get right into the news. So, the first story at the top of anti-war.com, Yemen announces a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. So Yemen's Houthies, who are officially known as Ansar Alamab, announced on Monday that its forces were imposing a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that came one week after the Saudis bombed the SA International Airport in Yemen. And so Ansarla military spokesman Yaya Sari said that the blockade was a response to the longstanding Saudi blockade on Yemeni ports uh airports and seapports which was eased under a 2022 ceasefire deal but was never fully lifted. The Saudi strikes on the SA airport were done to enforce the blockade and prevent a plane from landing that was carrying a Yemeni delegation that visited Iran for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Kam. So this is what Sari said in his statement. Quote, "The Ameni armed forces declare a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy. Based on the equation of an eye for an eye, effective immediately upon the issuance of this statement, we affirm the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade and to respond to all escalation with escalation, thus solidifying the equation. The Yemeni armed forces affirm their complete readiness for all options and any foolish act committed by the reckless Saudi enemy through all escalation will be met with a comprehensive and decisive escalation by God's will and power. End quote. So that is part of the statement there from Sar and I saw that since then a spokesman for the Saudi le coalition um said you know that they're ready to uh you know face any any sort of um attempt to blockade Saudi ports and so this is a big deal because uh since you know the closure of the straight of Hormuz Saudi Arabia has become much more reliant on its Red Sea coast and the fact that it has a Red Sea coast, a very big one, um has shielded it from a lot of the effects that other Gulf Arab states uh have have faced, you know, with the closure of the straight of Hormuz, the shutdown essentially of the Persian Gulf. Um so, you know, this could really impact not just Saudi Arabia, but of course the global oil market and also just the region in general. a lot of imports. Um, you know, it depends on how far the they're they're going to go in enforcing this blockade if it's going to apply to all ships because there's a lot of other imports, you know, to the wider Gulf region that come through the Saudis Red Sea um coast and and its ports there. And the the Houthis certainly have the ability to project power across the Red Sea. Um, we've we've seen, you know, they can fire missiles and drones and that's really all it takes. uh to disrupt shipping. And so um let's see here. Where were we? Where were we? So, as I covered, you know, last week when this attack happened, this bombing from the Saudis was a big deal. Really reigniting this war after a ceasefire that has held relatively well since 2022. Um and both sides are signaling that they're ready to escalate. Um, and an important detail that I also covered last week, Trump spoke with NBS before he bombed the Saudi the Yemeni airport, gave him the green light, and Middle East had a report a few days ago that the Saudis were considering further escalations u against Yemen and that the US was backing them, you know, willing to support more military action. And they really need that because they have a air force that consists of a lot of Americanmade fighter jets. They use a lot of American military equipment. uh and air defenses and things. So, they really need the US support. Uh and it seems like Trump is very willing to give it to them. Um and of course, you know, this is part of the wider regional war.

[00:04:18]And we'll see where this goes, where where this escalates. One kind of interesting factor here is that since uh last year, since May of last year, there's been a ceasefire between the US and Ansar Alah. If you remember, starting in March of 2025, the US started a very brutal bombing campaign against Yemen, uh, which Pete Hegth called Operation Ruff Rider. Um, and the goal, despite what they claimed, the goal was to stop the blockade of Israeli shipping in the Red Sea that Onsar Allah imposed in response to the genocidal war in siege in Gaza. And so uh they failed the the US failed to get them to stop that and then they agreed basically on a mutual ceasefire. And since then there's been no attacks on US warships coming from Yemen and no strikes um against Yemen or I should say against the area of of Yemen that is governed by Ansar or the Houthis which is um where most Yemenes live. But there has al there have been US drone strikes. Um you know very under reportported in other parts of Yemen uh that they say target al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula though uh in supporting the Saudis against the Houthis. That puts the US on the same side as al Qaeda in kind of the wider war in Yemen. But anyway, so certainly an area to keep an eye on uh when it comes to more escalations in the region.

[00:05:46]Uh, and the next one here, the US greenlights Saudi nuclear enrichment without safeguards. So, this article is for Middle East eye. So, the Trump administration has green lit Saudis nuclear enrichment project, but with no safeguards in place to prevent the development of a bomb. And CNN reported this on Friday. The draft deal viewed by the news outlet showed Washington support for Riad's civilian nuclear program is still awaiting President Trump's signature despite US Saudi negotiations concluding in October.

[00:06:15]Unnamed officials cited in the story indicated that the documents, which include the mandatory 123 agreement and safeguard protocols, have not yet been sent to Congress potentially for fear of bipartisan push back. And it's unclear how long the president will wait. I remember I forget exactly when, but NBS had a big visit to the US and it was expected that there would be some kind of deal like this, but it wasn't announced. So something has held it back. And also um okay it was in November that he visited and so another thing is that the Saudis were also looking for a mutual defense treaty with the US and they also didn't get that and you know there's a lot of indications that they would so at least uh you know the the US is not bound to you know intervene uh directly uh to to defend Saudi Arabia but either way the US is going to be completely involved in supporting this kind of renewed war on Yemen that appears to be uh starting again. And then another interesting thing, so I think we ran something about this on our page yesterday, but in the lower part, so Pakistan, they enhanced their kind of military agreement with the Saudis to essentially a mutual defense treaty. And now apparently they're concerned about getting drawn into the uh the war uh in Yemen. I guess they didn't factor that into the equation when they signed this deal. Um, all right. So, the next one here, uh, actually, let's mention our sponsor for today's show, and that is ExpatMoney. And if you want to support anti-war News, support my work, a very easy, free way to do that, uh, is by going to expatmoney.com/antiwar and downloading their free report on eight countries to escape World War II, how to build a sovereign plan B before borders close and markets panic. And it's a very interesting read written by Mikuel Thorp, the founder and director of Expat Money, who's lived as an expat himself for many years and has a lot of knowledge about the geopolitical tensions. One reason why he has that knowledge is because he is a a fan of anti-war.com and he he follows our work.

[00:08:21]Um, and I'm very happy to have them as a sponsor. So, not only uh is it a nice way to support me, it's also a uh great content here uh that they are offering for free and go to expatmoney.com/antiwar.

[00:08:37]And this is certainly, you know, up your alley if you are a listener of of this show. Certainly topics here uh that you would want to read about and learn about. What are the eight countries uh that Mikuel says are the best places to escape uh potential World War II? So again, expatmoney.com/antiwar and you can click the link in the description.

[00:09:02]All right, so back to the news here. So um nearly 100 US troops injured so far this month in the Iran war. So on Monday, um the New York Times reported that the Pentagon did not disclose the that US troops had been injured by Iranian attacks on Jordan in the week leading up to the missile strikes that killed at least two US soldiers and left one missing. US officials told the Times that in the days before the deadly January 17th attack, Iranian strikes on US facilities in Jordan injured dozens of US service members and damaged multiple US military helicopters. And they were really pounding those bases.

[00:09:39]um you know in in the again in the days leading up to that deadly attack and throughout the same week, US Central Command they released multiple statements on the US air strikes against Iran and other military operations, but they made no mention of the injuries following a pattern of the US hiding casualties throughout the war. And you see this picture here. This is of Private Isabella Gonzalez, a 19-year-old woman. A 19-year-old a teenage girl who was one of the US soldiers killed by that attack. One of the US soldiers who President Trump got killed by launching this illegal immoral war of choice with Iran.

[00:10:20]19 years old. I mean, it's just just tragic. And she was from uh Carlton, Texas. And so she was uh one of the soldiers who was identified. The other was a 25-year-old uh Tyler James Fihan. Uh he was from Hawaii. He was a first lieutenant. He was also killed in the attack. And there's also a third soldier who was killed, still considered missing. The remains haven't been officially identified, but all signs indicate that three soldiers were killed in this attack. And then a fourth American was killed on Saturday in Iraq. Um what they and the US military said it was during a controlled detonation of an unexloded Iranian drone. So um so four US troops killed on Friday and Saturday. But the story here from the times that the Pentagon essentially was hiding the casualties and the response from the Pentagon from Shawn Parnell who's a spokesman for the Pentagon. He rejected the New York Times report. He called it baseless and malicious. Had this whole long statement attacking it and saying it was, oh, it was, you know, so unbelievable that they would publish this. Well, a few hours later, he acknowledged that nearly a hundred US troops have been injured in the Iran war since July 7th. And of course, he downplayed it. He said, quote, "While nearly 100 service members were deemed to have some degree of injury since July 7th, 2026, 96% have returned to duty, they are determined to get back in the fight. the vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions.

[00:11:56]Further updates will be posted on the defense casualty analysis system. End quote. So just imagine a scenario where like the Biden administration was doing this, you know, launched a war and was just um you know hiding and lying about casualties and um you know just kind of the outrage that that you would see about that. Um, and obviously you're seeing outrage about this, but uh, you know what I mean, from people that, you know, would support the the Trump administration. Um, and according to the Pentagon's, this is based on the numbers that the Pentagon has put out, at least 18 US troops have been killed in the war since it started on February 28th. And that is counting the one who is still technically considered missing. And adding these nearly 100 injuries, that um, brings it to over 500 injuries. So over 500 American casualties including dead and wounded in this war so far. And that's just what the Pentagon has admitted to. And on the Iranian side, casualties are are much higher.

[00:12:58]Obviously, since February 28th, more than 3,500 Iranians have been killed uh by US and Israeli strikes, including more than 50 since the US renewed the bombing a few weeks ago. And in April, Iranian officials, both Iranian officials and, you know, anti-government NOS's that are funded by the US government also said that about half of the dead in in the bombing campaign in Iran were civilians. Um, and that includes the 120 school children who were massacred in the bombing of the Manob school. Um, so, you know, we always have to keep this in mind when we're talking about casualties. This is something that's always missing from, you know, the American media reports on this stuff. you know, there's far more Iranian casualties than there has been American casualties. And and that that doesn't mean that the US is winning the war. Nobody disputes the US's ability to kill people, to blow things up, but that that does not equal winning. If that did, then the US would have won the Vietnam War, you know, and all sorts of other wars over the past few decades. Um so anyway um the next one here uh White House shares a poll that shows the majority support uh a peace deal with Iran. So this is very strange that they would do this. So the White House on Monday shared the results of a poll from about 3 weeks ago that shows the majority of American voters supported the US Iran memorandum of understanding theou which President Trump has since declared is over as he has restarted the bombing campaign against Iran. And President Trump also shared the results of this poll. Again, this is early Monday morning that he he posts on Truth Social and this is from a survey conducted by big data poll um toward at the end of June that found that 60.4% of Americans supported theou and what's interesting about this poll is that it shows overwhelming support among Trump voters, people who voted for Trump in uh the election. uh 76.7% of Trump voters support theou.

[00:15:02]What's even more interesting is that the majority, it's a slim majority, but the majority of Harris voters even support theou and that is 50.1%.

[00:15:13]And we've seen poll after poll show that Democratic voters are very strongly opposed to the Iran war. The only reason why that, you know, there's not more supporting theou is because it is a Trump thing. So they don't, you know, they they don't like Trump things, but still you got a majority something that a majority of Trump and Harris voters support is thisou. Well, uh, it's dead.

[00:15:37]You know, why are they sharing this now?

[00:15:39]A few hours after the White House posted this on X, SenCom announced that they were bombing Iran again for the 10th night. And then Trump also issued more threats to Iran after he shared this poll showing that Americans want a peace deal. Well, this is not how you get peace by by bombing uh like this. And I just wanted to read this was a threat that Trump made on Truth Social regarding the US casualties. He said, quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over. this directive has been passed on to the Secretary of War Pete Hegsth, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Kaine, and every leader in the military." End quote. Um, so it's also, it's kind of like, you know, when JD Vance was on Joe Rogan, he was talking like theou was still something that was on the table, you know, he was like living like three weeks earlier. Um, you know, it's just uh very bizarre that they would share that poll. Um so the next one here uh just the live updates from Alazer on the US air strikes as we're recording now.

[00:16:46]Um they are bombing the uh the uh the Iranians and there's been reports also Iran claims attacks on US military assets in Kuwait. Um the US they actually said just 17 minutes ago that the latest wave of strikes on Iran is now over. It's very strange that they're doing this, that they're like announcing every attack and then declaring that it's over. Uh the IRGC also announced attacks on Bahrain, US bases in Bahrain also reported massive fires on oil tankers in the straight. So the war is very much on. Um and the next one here, Israeli attacks in Gaza killed six Palestinians. So Israeli attacks in Gaza on Monday killed at least six Palestinians according to reports from the Palestinian territory. As the IDF continues its constant violations of the US backed ceasefire deal uh and the Palestinian news agency Waffer reported that an Israeli strike on a hospital turned shelter for displaced Palestinians in the Jabalia refugee camp killed at least two people and injured 16 mostly children. The report said a woman whose body was torn apart was among the fatalities. And another Israeli strike in the Alawasi 10 camp killed at least three people. And according to the pictures here, this is just from the captions from the photos from Gaza. And these are from news agencies, you know, through Reuters. Um, this particular photo is from APA APA images. And according to the captions, I didn't see this in any of the news reports, but the news reports are lacking. There's barely any media coverage of what comes out of Gaza. But according to this um the three uh Palestinians who were killed in Kununis were uh aid security personnel. So they were their job was to secure aid deliveries you know from lutters and things and this is who Israel bombed and killed. Um and also a man succumbed to his wounds um that were sustained in an attack on Gaza city earlier in the day.

[00:18:43]Um so at least six Palestinians were killed. I think the the number might be higher at this point. Um, and according to the latest numbers from the health ministry, at least 1,158 Palestinians have been killed since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed. Um, so the next one here, Lebanon locals say that IDF troops haven't left despite the pilot zones announcement. So this one's from Jason Ditz. Uh, so there was an announcement from the State Department that said the uh the the pilot zones have begun in Lebanon and these are the areas where the IDF was going to withdraw from. and then Lebanese troops would go go in there. But according to the reporting on this, at least one of the new pilot zones, now there's actually no IDF troops there. It's not an area that they're occupying. So, who knows what that means. Um, but from these particular villages, the State Department again announced that this would begin. Uh but locals on the ground including the mayor of one of the the villages of Frun said that there's been no changes that IDF troops remain on its outskirts. So Lebanese troops have not come in and when we say Lebanese troops we we mean the Lebanese national army.

[00:19:52]Um so we'll see if this actually means anything uh in the in the coming days here. Um so the next one here, Israeli troops wound two children in the Syrian village of Jamla. So, more Israeli incursions, multiple Israeli incursions in southwestern Syria on Monday. They've they're really escalating uh these attacks and they there were shelling and gunfire. Um and in one attack um at least two children were wounded in this village um in Jamla. And you know, no explanation for why, you know, just not clear exactly what happened. Uh but this is uh something that the the people of these villages in southwestern Syria just have to deal with now every day. Um we've started to see some type of resistance with locals, you know, putting big stones in the roads and doing things like that to try to deter these IDF troops from coming in. Uh but nothing uh seems to be stopping them or slowing down these incursions.

[00:20:56]Um so the next one here, Ukrainian drone hits bus in Russia's Belgar region. So, a Ukrainian drone hit a bus in Russia's Belgar Oblast on Monday, killing five civilians, according to Russian officials, as Ukrainian forces continue to launch major USbacked drone swarms into Russian territory. And that's the key detail here and why we need to cover this stuff and pay attention to it even though it gets very little attention in our media is because these are US supported operations inside Russia. Um, we need to be aware of of this, you know, what's happening. And so this is the acting Belgrad governor Alexander Shuva Shuvayv. He said, quote, "It is with a heavy heart that I report according to preliminary data, five innocent civilians, including a minor, were killed as a result of this inhuman and despicable attack. Four women and a boy died from their injuries." So four women and a boy were the people who were killed, according to the governor. And this is one of the pictures going around showing a big hole uh in this the ceiling of the roof of this bus. and blown out windows. And he said 23 other people were injured. This was a passenger bus in Belgrad. And Ukrainian forces also targeted a uh targeted Moscow and they they launched a huge barrage of drones. The mayor of Moscow said that a total of 400 drones were launched toward Moscow and that about 83 or so were shot down near the city. Um and 10 people were injured in the Moscow Oblast, the region surrounding the the capital city. And then um at least two other Russians were killed by drone attacks on Monday, including a firefighter in the Briansk oblast and a 20-year-old in the Kursk Oblast, bringing the death toll as a result of Ukraine's drone swarm on Monday to at least seven. Um and Ukrainian officials claimed that attacks hit an oil depot and logistical facilities inside Russia.

[00:22:51]Um and again, you know, these are these drone attacks. The the US helped build up Ukraine's drone industry, um you know, with billions in military aid, and they provide intelligence for these attacks. Um you know, very crucial intelligence that they need, um to get through Russian air defenses. And Russian missiles and drones have also continued to pound Ukrainian cities um with at least eight people killed by Russian attacks in Ukraine on Sunday.

[00:23:19]And Ukrainian officials also reported a Russian strike on a ship carrying corn near Odessa. This was on Sunday. Um and the initial death toll was five, but that's gone up to 10. So 10 crew members of that ship were killed by a Russian strike. Um so the war continues to rage. And the next one here, the US bombs Somalia for the 76th time this year. So another US air strike in Somalia. No details, no reporting from US media, from Somali media, not even a statement from the Somali Defense Ministry on this one. So, we don't know any details. African claimed that it targeted al-Shabaab near Kismayo in southern Somalia. That's that's all we know. So, I I won't get too into it here, but just need to kind of keep a tally of this because nobody else is because literally nobody Well, I shouldn't say that. uh this group called New America, they do keep a tally of US air strikes. Their count is actually a little higher than mine. They have recorded 77. And I forget there's a reason why that I don't count I it was a while ago why I don't count one of the ones that they counted. But anyway, but they do, you know, so I shouldn't say I'm the only one keeping a tally. New America also does as well. Um, but you know, I'm the only one writing up like news reports about it. Um, and I will continue to do so even when we have no no information. Um, so the next one here, Trump says that Netanyahu will not be arrested in the US. So this one's from Kyle Anelone at the Libertarian Institute. So President Trump said, you know, he put out a post on he put out a truth on Truth Social saying that quote, Netanyahu will not be arrested in any way, shape, or form while in the United States of America. End quote. And then he went on to claim repeat the the inflated death toll in the Iranian uh protests and and all that. But this is a response to M Dani, the mayor of New York City, who said that Netanyahu should be arrested for for war crimes for the ICC warrant. Um he uh uh this is what he said. Um his exact quote was, "Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that's what we will do, but we won't be writing our own laws to that end." Um and so this is something people have just lost their minds over this. Um which is kind of fun to see. Uh but and Trump is saying, "No, my my friend, you know, BB, he's not not going to get arrested." I mean, they are partners in crime, uh after all. Uh so the next one here, China and the Philippines clash with ores and sticks in the South China Sea. Um so Chinese Coast Guard personnel and Philippine sailors clashed with ores and sticks from small boats near the disputed Second Thomas Shaw in the South China Sea on Monday with the two sides blaming the other for the incident. The confrontation occurred near the BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated World War II era ship that the Philippines grounded on the shaw in 1999 to assert its claim and now uses as a base of operations for the area. The Chinese Coast Guard said that one of the one of its vessels was patrolling near the shaw when two rubber dingies were launched from the BRP Sierra Madre and they're claiming that they ignored uh the Chinese Coast Guard's repeated warnings approached the Coast Guard boat and rammed it. Um the Chinese Coast Guard said that the Philippine sailors first used tools such as orars and long sticks to attack Chinese law enforcement officers.

[00:26:48]And the Philippine military had a very different account. They said that uh uh they sent out the two dingies to escort the Chinese ship, not not ship, it's a small boat out of the area and they're claiming that then they were rammed and uh a Chinese um Coast Guard member used a stick or a baton or something. And then uh China or the what is it called?

[00:27:12]The South China Sea Probing Initiative.

[00:27:14]They're a think tank based in Beijing.

[00:27:17]They released videos of the encounter um claiming that it shows that the Philippines boats started it. You could see them coming up and then they ram and start trying to whack the Chinese Coast Guard with the orars. The thing we don't know if this was the initial, you know, encounter or not. Um but you could see what happens here. Um so, so why uh why cover this? You know, does this really seem like a big incident? um you know, no shots were fired or anything, but the reason why I cover these encounters and disputes in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines is because the US has pledged that uh attacks on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea over these disputed shores and reefs um will trigger the uh mutual defense treaty between the US and the Philippines. essentially saying that the US, you know, will intervene. If this thing turns hot, if this thing turns into a shooting war, the US is going to intervene. And we have seen in recent months um the US um not recent months, recent years the US, you know, starting uh you know, I mean this goes back to the Obama administration, but things really ramped up uh under Biden when they signed a deal to increase the uh number of military bases that the US has access to, you know, trying to bringing things back to the older levels um and mil more military aid to the Philippines. And this increased support has included, you know, US Coast Guard, the That's right, the US Coast Guard in the patrolling the South China Sea, the US Navy patrolling the South China Sea. Um, you know, getting pretty close to some of these shores. So, there is always the chance of the US getting involved in these these little clashes. Um, so and I wouldn't be surprised if we do see a statement from the US State Department about this incident reaffirming that the mutual defense treaty applies to attacks on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. Um, so the last story here after political terrorism event, the US names Americans. So this article is from Ken Clippenstein at his Substack. So, I didn't really uh the I didn't cover this that Marco Rubio had this big conference about the resurgence of political terrorism um where they targeted kind of left-wing groups. And then the State Department just released this big report on Cuba, calling it Cuba's campaign of subversion against the United States.

[00:29:46]And this is clearly, you know, uh they're trying to make create some pretext for an attack on Cuba, which is, you know, what they want to do next. Um they've been pretty clear about that. Uh and you know they name people in this and organizations um uh and and Clippenstein put together a list. You know some of the people I saw that Ben Cohen was in there and and um he you know he supported us before of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. So I went to see what what the connection you know what they said about him and they said that he attended the wedding of Jodie Evans who's a Code Pink I believe she's a co-founder of Code Pink. uh and she married Neville Roy Singham who's a businessman who I believe he's based in China and he funds a lot of leftwing groups and he's been really targeted by the administration but so that was really the only mention of Cohen was that he was seen at the wedding. Um but you know they're they're they're just as I said it's they're really trying to set up this pretext for an attack on Cuba and also a crackdown on you know their political opponents uh at home in the US. Um, so that is it for the news for today. Please go check out our viewpoints. One from John Duncan Jr., no peace in the Middle East until Israel stops its killing spree. One from Ron Paul. How to honor the dead US service members. One from Stavula Paps. Critics slam the idea to create US combatant command for robots. One from Joseé Nino.

[00:31:11]America's addiction to drone warfare must end. And our spotlight is from Harrison Burgerer. after Ankora, uh, Deep State and Eurohawks celebrate wins.

[00:31:22]So, please go check all that out. Go visit anti-war.com. Even if you watch the show, like, subscribe, comment, all that stuff helps us. Um, that we'll see how everything goes this week. What is this, the second show? So, we got a few more this week. So, anyway, I will be back um tomorrow with some more news for you and I will talk to you then. Thanks for listening.

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