Timur Azari
RIYADH, March 13 (Reuters) – Iran’s Shiite allies in Lebanon and Iraq have joined a regional war sparked by U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran. But Yemen’s Houthi rebels, heavily armed and capable of striking Gulf neighbors and causing major disruption to maritime navigation around the Arabian Peninsula, have yet to join the fight.
Let’s take a look at why this is the case:
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthis are a military, political and religious movement led by the Houthi family and headquartered in northern Yemen. They follow the Shiite Zaydi sect of Islam.
The Houthis have a history of fighting guerrilla warfare against the Yemeni army, but expanded their power and forged closer ties with Iran after the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
In 2014, the group took advantage of instability in the country to seize the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The following year, Saudi Arabia led an Arab League military intervention in an attempt to oust the group.
The Houthis have demonstrated powerful missile and drone capabilities, attacking oil facilities and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
After years of fighting that resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire between Yemen’s warring parties in 2022 that continues to this day.
red sea attack
On October 7, 2023, an attack on Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered a devastating Israeli military operation in Gaza. The Houthis have since begun firing on international shipping in the Red Sea, saying they are doing so in support of the Palestinians.
They also launched drones and missiles at Israel, which responded with airstrikes against Houthi targets. The United States has also launched strikes against the Houthis.
In October 2025, under the mediation of the United States, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire, and the Houthis ceased their attacks.
Why didn’t they join the war?
On March 5, Houthi armed leader Abdul Malik Houthi stated that the Houthi armed forces were ready to launch attacks at any time.
“As for military escalations and operations, we will pull the trigger at any time if the situation requires it,” he said in a televised address.
But unlike Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi armed groups, they have not officially declared their participation in the war.
The religious teachings of the Houthis are not as supportive of Iran’s supreme leader as Hezbollah and Iraqi groups.
While Iran supports the Houthis as part of its regional “axis of resistance,” Yemeni experts say the movement is primarily driven by a domestic agenda, despite their shared political affinity with Iran and Hezbollah.
The United States says Iran has armed, financed and trained the Houthis with the help of Hezbollah.
The Houthis deny they are Iranian proxies and say they develop their own weapons.
What will they do?
Observers are divided over what actions the notoriously erratic Houthis might take.
Some diplomats and analysts believe they may have carried out separate attacks on targets in neighboring countries. Reuters could not confirm these claims.
Others say the Houthis are coordinating with Iran, waiting for an opportunity to intervene in the conflict to apply maximum pressure.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz to hydrocarbon exports from the Arabian Gulf and a shift away from heavy reliance on the Red Sea could provide such an opportunity.
Finally, given growing economic pressure at home and the potential for violent attacks from the United States, Israel and even Saudi Arabia if they join the war, some analysts say the Houthis may decide to sit on the sidelines entirely.
(Reporting by Timor Azari in Riyadh; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
