Evidence

A search for this claim surfaced a direct match: an Al Jazeera feature article titled 'Are Houthis using new modified cruise missiles in Yemen's war?' which states that 'Experts say use of modified Iranian defence system could alter the balance in the fight for the Red Sea' — language almost identical to the claim being checked. The article reports that Yemen's internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government alleged the Houthis have modified Iranian air-defense weapons (referred to as 'Toufan') into loitering cruise missiles. This was echoed/syndicated by several other outlets (hathalyoum.net, finwire.io) that appear to be republishing or summarizing the same Al Jazeera piece. Other sources found (TWZ/The War Zone, Army Recognition, Global News) confirm the broader, well-established fact that Houthis possess and have used various anti-ship cruise missiles against shipping and US Navy vessels in the Red Sea, but do not specifically address the 'modified cruise missile' allegation. I was unable to locate any dedicated fact-check from Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo specifically examining this claim (search tool access became rate-limited before additional queries could be completed), so no independent forensic verification of the Yemeni government's specific allegation about 'modified' missiles was found.