<2> Where are the Houthis?
<3> Yemen’s Rebel Militia: A Silent Participant in Global Conflicts
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, has been a powerful force in Yemen since the early 2000s. They have been involved in a long-running conflict with the Yemeni government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition. However, despite their significant military capabilities and ideological ties to Iran, the Houthis have remained noticeably absent from Iran’s war with the US and Israel.
<3> The Houthi Movement: A Brief History
The Houthi movement originated in the 1990s as a Zaidi Shia revivalist movement in northern Yemen. The group’s leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, was a prominent cleric who sought to promote Zaidi Shia Islam and resist what he saw as the corrupting influence of Western and Saudi-backed Wahhabi Islam. After al-Houthi’s death in 2004, his brother Abdul-Malik took over the movement and began to build a more organized and militarized force.
<3> The Houthi-U.S. Relationship: A Complex Dance
Despite their ideological ties to Iran, the Houthis have maintained a complex relationship with