What to know about Yemen's Houthi rebels as the US steps up attacks on Iran-backed group
Where are the Iranians in all of this?
Iran long has armed the Houthis, who are members of Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect, which ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962. Tehran routinely denies arming the rebels, despite physical evidence, numerous seizures and experts tying the weapons back to Iran. That's likely because Tehran wants to avoid sanctions for violating a United Nations arms embargo on the Houthis.
The Houthis now form the strongest group within Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance." Others like Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have been decimated by Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that sparked Israel's war of attrition in the Gaza Strip. Allied Shiite militias in Iraq largely have kept their heads down since the U.S. launched retaliatory attacks last year over a drone attack that killed three American troops and injured at least 34 others at a military base in Jordan.
While Iranian state television aired footage of civilian casualties from the weekend strikes in Yemen, top political leaders stayed away from suggestion Tehran itself would get involved in the fight. Revolutionary Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami notably underscored the Houthis made their own decisions — while not offering any warning over what would happen if the strikes killed any members of the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force, who are believed to actively support the rebels on the ground.
“We have always declared — and we declare again today — that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land, with an independent national policy,” Salami said.
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz, speaking to ABC's “This Week” on Sunday, warned Guard officials training the Houthis “will be on the table too” as possible targets for attack.
Meanwhile, Iran is still trying to determine how to respond to a letter from Trump aiming to restart negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday officials continue to review the letter and will respond "after investigations are completed.”
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately traveled Sunday to Oman, which long has been an interlocutor between Tehran and the West. The Houthis also operate a political office in the sultanate.
The attacks on the Houthis are “a not-so-subtle signal to Iran, as President Trump has been unequivocal in his insistence that Iran return to the negotiating table to deal with its nuclear program,” the New York-based Soufan Center said in an analysis Monday.
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