Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have released footage which they claim shows the downing of a Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter jet, amid escalating regional conflict and growing concerns over global energy supplies. The Houthis say the jet was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile; they have released a video which appears to show wreckage bearing Saudi markings, but the footage has not yet been independently verified and Saudi Arabia has not confirmed losing an aircraft. The development follows a rapid Houthi advance against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, including the capture of a Red Sea port and an island near a strategically important shipping route used for Saudi energy exports. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have also increased, prompting retaliatory strikes from Riyadh. Analysts fear the escalating confrontation could draw Saudi Arabia more deeply into the wider US-Iran conflict. Continued instability around crucial Middle Eastern waterways threatens international shipping and energy markets, while Yemen’s population faces further suffering after years of devastating civil war.