Houthis arrest alleged members of Saudi-American-Israeli spy ring

On November 8, the Houthi Ministry of the Interior announced the discovery and arrest of an alleged spy network in Yemen that it claims involved the Saudi, American, and Israeli intelligence services and included a “joint operations room” based in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also released confessions from the alleged spies.

According to the Ministry of the Interior statement, the joint operations room in Saudi Arabia coordinated several small cells in Yemeni territory and provided operatives “sophisticated espionage equipment and tools.” The Houthis claim that the spies were trained by American, Israeli, and Saudi officers in Saudi Arabia. An official Houthi website further alleges that the Saudis operated as recruiters under the command of the Americans and Israelis.

The Ministry of the Interior statement went on to claim that “the espionage cells monitored Yemeni infrastructure, attempting to uncover the military and security infrastructure, military manufacturing sites, and ballistic missile and drone launch sites used by our valiant army against the criminal Zionist enemy. They also gathered information and conducted surveillance on civilian state leaders, military and security leaders, their headquarters, and their activities.” The Houthis further alleged that the spies provided specific coordinates of vital locations in Houthi-controlled territory.

It added that “the network’s cells were implicated in the bloodshed of Yemeni civilians in several operations launched by the American and Israeli enemy against homes, markets, and public places. They also provided the enemy with information and coordinates of some service facilities targeted by the enemy, with the aim of harming the interests of the Yemeni people and exacerbating their economic and living conditions.”

The statement concluded by calling on Yemenis “to be more vigilant and alert to the enemy’s movements that target our internal front and seek to destabilize security and stability, in order to stop and weaken the popular and official stance and the military operations that support and assist Gaza and Palestine.”

In their publicized confessions, the arrested individuals said that they were trained to identify, covertly photograph, and describe residential and commercial buildings. The confessors also stated that cars were fitted with cameras and other devices to photograph, track locations, and identify nearby networks. The alleged spies also confessed to learning elements of espionage tradecraft and described working with Saudi trainers and Americans, identified by first name, in Saudi Arabia and other regional locations.

The accused individuals confessed to joining the espionage network between 2019 and 2024.

The Houthis have provided some evidence against the alleged spies, but the validity of all the accusations and the extent to which the confessions were coerced cannot be independently verified. The Houthis have a history of arresting Yemenis over alleged ties to foreign intelligence services and tend to claim these individuals have connections to Israel and the US.

The Houthis’ domestic crackdown

The Houthis’ announcement of the espionage network comes amidst an increase in the group’s repression in its territory and a crackdown on alleged spies. Following the beginning of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza in October, the Houthis increased arrests, often targeting humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel. Abdulmalik al Houthi, the terrorist group’s leader, has accused United Nations programs in Yemen of operating espionage cells on behalf of Israel and the United States.

The Houthis currently hold 59 illegally detained United Nations workers, according to the international body. At the end of October, the Houthis announced that 43 of these individuals would be tried for espionage in what is likely to be a sham trial. The group alleges the United Nations cells provided the necessary intelligence for an Israeli airstrike on August 28 that killed 12 members of the Houthi-controlled government and likely also caused the death of the group’s military chief of staff. In 2021, nine men were executed for allegedly providing intelligence that enabled the Saudi-led coalition that was fighting the Houthis to kill one of the group’s leaders.

Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom have all conducted airstrikes against the Iran-backed terror group in Yemen since it began targeting Israel and international shipping over the war in Gaza. The intelligence successes of certain airstrikes, notably the one that killed numerous high-level government leaders, have increased paranoia within the Houthi organization.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.