The Houthis and Iran
The Houthis are a Yemeni group that considers itself more entitled to power in Yemen than any other faction. Their spiritual leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, admired the Khomeini Revolution in Iran, embraced its principles, and adhered to Khomeini’s beliefs. He visited Iran and received appreciation from the Iranian regime, which saw in him the ideal candidate to serve as their military arm in Yemen. His son, Hussein al-Houthi, founded the Houthi military militia, which later branded itself “Ansar Allah,” though in reality, it serves Iran. Iran provided the group with substantial financial support to attract young Houthi recruits, supplied it with weapons, and trained its members in weapon usage. This was accompanied by moral and cultural conditioning through reciprocal visits, religious missions, and books and publications supplied by Iran via its embassy in Sana’a.
The ruling Yemeni authorities could not tolerate Hussein al-Houthi’s military activities and his suspicious ties with the Iranian regime, viewing him as a threat to the Yemeni state and a vehicle for exporting the Khomeini model to Yemen. Consequently, they declared war on the Houthis in Saada in 2004, during which Hussein al-Houthi was killed. He was succeeded by his brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leading to several subsequent Houthi wars against the Yemeni state. Over time, the Houthis became an ostracized group within Yemeni society, reduced to a mere armed militia seeking to serve the Iranian regime. This trajectory even led to accusations of betrayal from their Zaidi base, which rejects Khomeini’s ideology and beliefs that contradict their own religious convictions.
Several factors aided the Houthis in strengthening their presence on the Yemeni political scene, particularly the political turmoil in Yemen during the popular protests that led to the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh subsequently allied with the Houthis out of spite toward the Yemeni people, further enabling Houthi expansion and paving the way for their takeover of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. There, they committed heinous crimes against politicians and opponents, including assassinations, destruction of homes, imprisonment, and house arrest. Even their former ally, the resigned President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was not spared; they had him assassinated.
The Houthi militia’s control over the capital made it extremely difficult to dislodge them. They entrenched themselves in Sana’a, using its residents as human shields to protect themselves and complicate any military campaign against them.
As an armed militia operating in the interest of the Iranian regime and receiving financial and military support from Tehran, the Houthis do not prioritize the welfare of the Yemeni people. They have caused significant suffering to the Yemeni population through their numerous wars against the Yemeni state, particularly after they seized control of the capital, Sana’a, in 2014.
As the armed wing of the Iranian regime in Yemen—similar to its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, and previously in Syria before the latter liberated itself from the pro-Iranian Alawite Assad regime—the Houthi militia continues to operate under Iranian command. It directly threatens the interests of our Gulf states by deploying Iranian missiles and drones. The militia’s current attempts to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait are merely a reflection of its alliance with the Iranian regime, which is facing economic strangulation due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the current war. By seeking control over Bab al-Mandab, the Houthis are using it as a leverage card in favor of Iran, serving the interests of the Zionist entity, which constantly hopes for wars ravaging our Arab region to expand its influence.
