Aligned Nations · The wars

The Iran war: Iran, Israel, the United States and Yemen

⚔ The aggressor

Israel and the United States against Iran; in Yemen, the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition as occupiers

Israel struck Iran first on 13 June 2025, during US–Iran nuclear talks and without a UN mandate, and the US bombed its nuclear sites on 22 June; on 28 February 2026 the two launched a joint war that killed Iran's Supreme Leader. Yemen is the war's southern front, and an occupying force is the aggressor there: the Houthis have held the capital by force since 2014, and the Saudi-led coalition keeps foreign troops in the east, south and islands. Saudi Arabia ended the Yemen truce on 13 July 2026 by striking Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian aircraft; the Houthis answered with a blockade of Saudi Arabia and missiles on its airports.

Backed by

  • Iran → The HouthisUN experts have traced Houthi missiles, drones and components to Iran; Iran denies arming them directly.
  • The United Arab Emirates → The southern separatists (STC)Armed, paid and directed the Southern Transitional Council's forces until Saudi Arabia broke them up in 2025–26.
  • The United States and the United Kingdom → Saudi ArabiaThe coalition's warplanes and bombs, and until 2018 US mid-air refuelling.

Their case: Israel and the US call their strikes pre-emptive, to stop Iran building a nuclear weapon — the IAEA had not found that Iran was building one. The Houthis call their 2014 takeover a revolution and the coalition the aggressor since 2015; Saudi Arabia says it is in Yemen at its recognised government's invitation.

Iran, the Gulf and Yemen · since June 2025 (Yemen since 2014) · updated 2026-10-12

Deaths: About 4,500 in the war on Iran (3,468 in Iran in 2026 by the Iranian Martyrs Foundation, over 1,000 in June 2025, dozens in Israel), and about 150,000 in Yemen's fighting since 2014 — 377,000 counting hunger and disease (UNDP, to end 2021)

One war on several fronts: the US and Israel against Iran since June 2025, and Yemen's war — renewed in July 2026 between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition — fought around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

🇾🇪 Yemen26%🇮🇷 Iran27%🇸🇦 Saudi Arabiaaggressor21%🇺🇸 United Statesaggressor8%🇮🇱 Israelaggressor0%

Summary

Israel struck Iran's nuclear and military sites on 13 June 2025, in the middle of US–Iran nuclear talks and without a UN mandate; the US bombed Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on 22 June before a ceasefire on the 24th. On 28 February 2026 the US and Israel launched a far larger joint war, assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran answered with missile and drone barrages on Israel and on Gulf states hosting US forces.

Iran's Health Ministry counts at least 2,362 civilians killed. A UN-backed fact-finding mission found in September 2026 reasonable grounds to believe US forces committed a war crime in striking a girls' school in Minab, killing about 170 — and, separately, that Iran's authorities committed crimes against humanity in crushing protests at home. Iran has attacked about 100 merchant ships, killing at least 24 sailors.

The Houthis (Ansar Allah) seized Sanaa in 2014 and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015. A UN truce in 2022 brought four years of relative calm. It broke on 13 July 2026, when Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa airport's runway to stop an Iranian aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation; on 20 July the Houthis declared a naval 'blockade for blockade' on Saudi Arabia, hit Saudi tankers and refineries, and in September took Mokha and Perim Island on the Red Sea coast.

On 4 October 2026 the government of the Presidential Leadership Council launched 'Operation Yemen Dawn' with coalition air power, claiming Bab al-Mandeb, Dhubab and Mokha — claims Reuters could not verify. Houthi missiles on Riyadh and Abha airports killed three Saudis and injured 36 on 6–8 October. The WHO counts more than 5,000 casualties, including 959 deaths, since 6 August, about 200,000 newly displaced and cholera spreading; the UN envoy says Yemen has returned to full-scale war.

Where it stands: A Pakistan-mediated truce of 7 April 2026 collapsed in early July. The US blockades Iran's ports and says it will not strike again before the 3 November midterms; tanker attacks in Hormuz hit a wartime high on 9 October. Oman, Egypt, Qatar and Pakistan are mediating. In Yemen: Full-scale war since summer 2026, with the government offensive on the Red Sea coast and Houthi strikes on Saudi civilian airports continuing in October. Three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry (WFP).

The parties

  • Iran

    27%

    Attacked twice during talks and defending its land, but its strikes on cities and neutral shipping, and its crushing of its own people, fall short.

    • Struck first in neither war: attacked on 13 June 2025 and 28 February 2026.
    • Missile and drone barrages on Israeli cities and on Gulf states hosting US bases.
    • About 100 commercial vessels attacked in and around Hormuz, at least 24 sailors killed (IMO).
    • Accepted the April 2026 truce and has offered a Lebanon ceasefire; UN mission found crimes against humanity in the crackdown on protesters.

    🇮🇷 Iran in the nations ranking27%

  • Yemeni government (Presidential Leadership Council)

    26%

    The recognised government fighting to restore its authority — a defensible cause — though its own war depends on foreign air power.

    • Asked for the July 2026 Saudi strike on Sanaa airport that ended the truce.
    • Launched Operation Yemen Dawn on 4 October 2026 with coalition support.

    🇾🇪 Yemen in the nations ranking26%

  • Saudi-led coalition

    21%

    Its 2015 war brought blockade and famine; it ended the 2022 truce by bombing Sanaa's airport.

    • Struck Sanaa airport on 13 July 2026, ending four years of truce.
    • Claims 100 jets and 324 'high-value' Houthi targets hit on 4–5 October; Houthi health officials report civilian deaths.

    🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia in the nations ranking21%

  • United States

    8%

    Joined and then led a war of choice, with a school strike the UN mission calls a likely war crime and a blockade on a nation's trade.

    • Bombed Iran's nuclear sites in June 2025 and launched the February 2026 war with Israel.
    • Minab girls' school strike, about 170 killed — 'reasonable grounds' of a war crime (UN-backed mission, 17 September 2026).
    • Blockade of Iranian ports; accepted the April truce and says talks are 'productive'.

    🇺🇸 United States in the nations ranking8%

  • Israel

    0%

    Launched both wars by surprise, during negotiations and with no mandate — aggression rather than defence.

    • Opened the June 2025 war with surprise strikes while US–Iran talks were under way.
    • Joint strikes with the US from 28 February 2026, including the killing of Iran's head of state.
    • Treated the April 2026 truce as not covering Lebanon and kept striking there.

    🇮🇱 Israel in the nations ranking0%

  • Houthis (Ansar Allah)

    Resisted foreign intervention, but now strikes civilian airports and shipping and blockades a neighbour.

    • Declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on 20 July 2026 and struck Saudi tankers and refineries.
    • Cruise missiles on Riyadh's King Khalid and Abha airports killed three and injured 36 (6–8 October 2026).
    • Took Mokha, Perim Island and most of the Red Sea coast in September 2026.

    An armed group, not a nation — not scored in the ranking.

Articles

How each nation is scored — the ten principles of our policy reforms
  1. Justice (adl). No one's land, life, rights or wealth taken unjustly; justice upheld for everyone, even enemies, and what was wrongly taken given back. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  2. Protection of life (hifz al-nafs). Life is sacred: non-combatants never targeted, war only against real aggression, and no help given to another's aggression. Political Policy Reform; the objectives of the sharia (maqasid)
  3. Prohibition of usury and speculation (riba, gharar). Public and private finance built on shared risk and real assets, not interest-bearing debt or speculative bets. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  4. Circulation of wealth and zakat (tadawul al-mal). Wealth must not circulate only among the rich; zakat, endowments and fair wages meet every person's basic needs. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  5. Trust over common resources (amana). Water, energy, minerals and public assets belong to the whole community — not privatised, monopolised or signed away for private or foreign gain. Economic and Financial Policy Reform
  6. Accountability and truthfulness (muhasaba, sidq). Rulers, security forces and firms answer to law and to the public; no coups, state capture, bribery or concealment. Economic, Political and National Policy Reform
  7. Legitimate authority by consultation (shura). Rule rests on the community's consent, given through consultation and a free pledge — not inheritance, force or foreign backing. Political and National Policy Reform
  8. Kept covenants and peacemaking (wafa bil-ahd, sulh). Treaties, contracts and rulings honoured; an offer of peace met with peace; disputes ended by reconciliation. Economic, Financial and Political Policy Reform
  9. Independence and self-reliance (izza). No foreign power or creditor in control of the nation's revenues or decisions; its own strength, industry and knowledge built. Financial and Political Policy Reform
  10. Human dignity, privacy and freedom of worship (karama). Every person's dignity protected — citizen or migrant; no spying on private lives; faiths and places of worship free and safe. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform

These are the principles the Policy Reform pages draw from the expert opinions. Each nation is marked 0–5 on each from its record as a state — its economy, government and treatment of its people, and its conduct in its wars — drawn from UN bodies, the ICJ and ICC, human-rights monitors and the reporting under each war. The ten marks make the percentage; each war a nation started, provoked or joined against another people then takes 15 points off it, and an aggressor always ranks below every nation that started no war. The score judges a state's conduct, not its people or their faith.