The briefing for Sunday, March 29.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched their first missile attack on Israel early Saturday, marking a significant escalation one month into the Middle East conflict. Israel's military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, while Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the rebels targeted 'sensitive Israeli military sites' in southern Israel. The attack came hours after Saree warned Friday that Houthi forces had their fingers 'on the trigger' for military intervention if the Red Sea was used for operations against Iran.

The Houthis' entry into the war raises serious concerns about renewed attacks on commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula through which about 12% of global trade typically passes. Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, warned that Houthi attacks on vessels would 'not only further push up oil prices but destabilize all of maritime security.' Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two ships and forcing major shipping companies to reroute around Africa at significantly higher costs.

The threat is particularly acute because Saudi Arabia has been diverting millions of barrels of crude oil per day through Bab el-Mandeb since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic waterway is crucial for vessels heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea, and any disruption would compound the economic pain already inflicted by the monthlong war. The Houthis control Yemen's capital Sanaa and Red Sea coastline, having held back from the conflict for a month despite their status as a key part of Iran's 'Axis of Resistance.' Their involvement would complicate U.S. military operations, as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrived in Croatia on Saturday and could face similar attacks experienced by other carriers when deployed to the Red Sea.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday sharply rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion that the Trump administration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia in exchange for U.S. security guarantees. Speaking to reporters after a Group of Seven meeting in France, Rubio called Zelenskyy's claim 'a lie' and said it was 'unfortunate he would say that because he knows that's not true and that's not what he was told.'

In an interview published this week with Reuters, Zelenskyy said the U.S. was making security guarantees contingent on Ukraine withdrawing from Donbas, the industrial heartland that Russia has long coveted. 'The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,' Zelenskyy told the news agency. The claim exposed tensions in ceasefire negotiations as the U.S. focuses resources on its war against Iran.

Rubio insisted the U.S. had only conveyed Russia's demands without advocating for them. 'We've told the Ukrainian side what the Russians are insisting on,' he said. 'We're not advocating for it. We've explained it to them. It's their choice to make.' The secretary emphasized that security guarantees could only come after fighting has ended and that the U.S. would continue pushing for a peace deal. While Rubio said no U.S. weapons bound for Ukraine have been redirected to the Middle East, he acknowledged it could happen 'if we need something for America.' The Associated Press has reported that Patriot air-defense missiles have been moved from Europe toward the Middle East as Washington redirects resources to the Iran conflict.

President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. may soon be 'winding down' its military operation against Iran, even though some of his stated objectives remain unfulfilled one month into the conflict. Trump last week outlined five goals for the massive air campaign—up from four initially laid out by his staff and three generally enumerated by the Pentagon. While the strikes by the U.S. and Israel have significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders, those tactical successes don't necessarily translate to achieving all the president's strategic aims.

Trump claimed Thursday that about 90% of Iran's missiles and launchers have been knocked out, though Iran continues launching missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf neighbors. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. has damaged or destroyed more than 150 Iranian vessels, but Iranian missiles continue to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, which Iran has effectively closed by threatening tankers, typically carries a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas—and its blockage has caused oil prices to soar and rattled the global economy.

The conflict has demonstrated Iran's use of insurgent tactics despite being battered by two of the world's most sophisticated militaries. Tehran's ability to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains its biggest strategic advantage, causing oil prices to skyrocket, stock markets to plunge, and basic goods to rise in cost. Trump has set an April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the strait or face attacks on power plants—a deadline he has already delayed twice. Some 11,000 U.S. paratroopers and Marines have deployed to the region as Trump considers whether to negotiate a ceasefire, declare victory, or dramatically escalate the conflict. Iran's economy, long cut off from global markets by sanctions, remains broadly insulated from the pain it inflicts on others through the strait closure.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of a newly upgraded high-thrust, solid-fuel engine for weapons, state media reported Sunday, signaling continued efforts to modernize the country's arsenal of missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. The Korean Central News Agency said the engine uses composite carbon fiber material and has a maximum thrust of 2,500 kilotons—up from about 1,971 kilotons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September, representing a 26% increase in power.

The test came days after Kim delivered a speech at North Korea's Parliament pledging to 'irreversibly cement' his country's status as a nuclear power and accusing the U.S. of global 'state terrorism and aggression,' an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East. Observers say the push to increase engine power is likely associated with efforts to place multiple warheads on a single missile to increase chances of defeating U.S. defenses. KCNA reported the test was conducted as part of the country's five-year military escalation program, with objectives including upgrading 'strategic strike means'—understood to mean nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the continental U.S.

In recent years, North Korea has test-fired a variety of ICBMs demonstrating the potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, including missiles with solid propellants that make detection prior to liftoff more difficult. Some foreign experts say North Korea still faces technological hurdles before it has a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring warheads survive atmospheric reentry, though others dispute that assessment given the years spent on the programs. Kim left open the door for dialogue with Trump at a ruling Workers' Party congress in February but urged Washington to drop demands for the North's nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.

House Republicans on Friday rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and instead passed their own plan in a 213-to-203 vote, prolonging the shutdown that has caused massive delays at airports nationwide. Speaker Mike Johnson labeled the Senate bill a 'joke,' while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared the House measure 'dead on arrival' in the upper chamber. With Congress now heading into a two-week recess, funding for DHS—which covers TSA agents, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection—appears unlikely to pass soon.

The impasse centers on immigration enforcement funding. House Republicans are demanding the legislation include money for ICE at current levels for 60 days, while Democrats have pushed to halt funding to immigration agencies without reforms following controversies including the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents during operations. About 50,000 TSA agents have been working without pay since mid-February, leading to reduced checkpoint operations—currently only a third to 50% are functioning—and hundreds quitting. Hours-long security queues have plagued airports across the country.

President Trump signed an executive order Friday directing his administration to pay airport security agents, with DHS announcing TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday. The move may face legal challenges, as the Constitution tasks Congress with authorizing federal spending. The Senate had earlier passed a bill that would have reopened most of DHS but excluded funding for immigration agencies to garner Democratic support. Democrats want any deal to include measures like ending ICE agents wearing masks, banning racial profiling, and requiring judicial warrants before agents can enter private property.

The European Union is expanding its powers to track, raid, and deport migrants to 'return hubs' in third countries in Africa and elsewhere, quietly adopting tactics similar to the Trump administration that have drawn public criticism across the 27-nation bloc. The new policies, known as the Pact on Migration and Asylum, go into effect June 12 as the EU continues tightening migration policies after right-wing parties took power in some countries in 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the measures will prevent a repeat of the 2015 crisis when about 1 million people arrived seeking asylum.

What's envisioned is an expansion of what Italy has created under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's 'tough on migration' stance—two migrant detention centers for rejected asylum-seekers in Albania, one currently holding at least 90 migrants. An 'informal group' of EU nations including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece are pursuing deportation center agreements, with Kenya identified as one country in discussions. Sweden's migration minister has said the conservative ruling coalition approves setting up hubs outside Europe, especially for Afghan and Syrian asylum-seekers.

The EU border service Frontex began sending officers along on raids with Belgium's police in 2024 to detain and deport migrants, though it's unclear if this is happening in other countries. Human rights groups warn that authorities are already illegally pushing back migrants at EU borders through so-called 'pushbacks'—forcing people across borders without access to asylum procedures—averaging 221 such incidents weekly. In Britain, the Labour government has made curbing unauthorized immigration a key focus, with the Home Office reporting almost 60,000 deportations since July 2024 and 9,000 arrests of people working without permission in 2025, up more than half from the prior year.