Why the Houthis Declared a Blockade on Saudi Arabia
The Yemeni militant group is poised to disrupt another key chokepoint in the global energy supply.
Yemenis
Iran reportedly tells Houthis to close Bab al Mandeb Strait if US strikes power grid
Three sources told Reuters on July 16 that Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthis to close the Red Sea to shipping if the US attacks Iran’s power network, which President Donald Trump threatened to...
Op-eds
Sanaa-Tehran Direct Air Route Would Aid Iranian Efforts To Arm Houthis in Yemen
Despite an air blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, a delegation of Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen arrived in Tehran on July 3 — marking the first time in roughly a decade that a commercial...
Policy Briefs
What would Thomas Jefferson do?
America’s third president understood that jihadis don’t make good deals
Op-eds
Islamist Turkey: A Base for Muslim Brotherhood Jihadism
Memos
Yemen, the unfinished business America ignores at its peril
As thousands of drones and missiles fly through the skies of the Middle East targeting the United States and its allies, one group’s weapons are notably absent — the Islamic Republic of Iran’s...
Op-eds
When U.S. Allies Turn on Each Other, America Must Act
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Have Been Friends and Allies for Decades, but They Have Picked Different Sides in the Fighting in Yemen
Op-eds
Houthi Actions Force World Food Programme to Close Operations in Northern Yemen
In a dramatic move, the World Food Programme (WFP) is shuttering its operations in northern Yemen, which is currently controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, UN officials confirmed on January 29. The...
Policy Briefs
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...
Op-eds
It’s Summer Break in Yemen, and the Children Are off to Houthi Boot Camp
The Houthis launched their 2025 children’s summer camps in April, even as the group faces U.S. retaliation for its attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israeli civilian targets. These camps have become a...
Policy Briefs
Iraq’s former PM visits Houthis amid US strikes and Houthi attacks
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi visited Sanaa in Yemen to meet with the Iranian-backed Houthis days after the US launched airstrikes on the Houthis. His trip also came as the Houthis...
Op-eds
Iran urges the Houthis to de-escalate ‘tensions’
Iran has made private requests to Yemen’s Houthis to “cool tensions” in the Red Sea, according to Reuters. The report states that two senior Iranian officials said Iran sent a message to...
Op-eds
U.S. Preemptively Strikes Houthi Positions in Yemen and Signals to Iran
“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP,” President Donald Trump warned the Iran-backed terror group in Yemen as U.S. Central Command launched a large-scale operation...
Policy Briefs
U.S. Relists Yemen’s Iran-Backed Houthis as Foreign Terrorist Organization
It’s back to the future for the Trump administration in the Middle East. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of State announced the redesignation of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a Foreign...
Policy Briefs
US re-designates Houthis as Foreign Terrorist Organization, sanctions leaders
On Tuesday, the United States Department of State re-designated the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Op-eds
What do the Houthis hope to achieve as they lash out on Israel?
The Houthis are lashing out. They are willing to confront the US, Israel, and perhaps Saudi Arabia and other states.
Op-eds
The Houthis have challenged the Rules-Based International System and must be defeated
In my first analysis and opinion piece on the so-called Axis of Resistance, I set the scene by describing Iran’s 45-year trajectory from the Khomeini revolution to its current challenge to...
Op-eds
The Taliban and Al-Qaeda Are Closing In on Afghanistan’s Provincial Capitals
Plus, the Biden administration designates Iranian-backed Houthi leaders as terrorists.
Op-eds
Biden Can’t Bring Peace to Yemen While Iran Keeps Sending Weapons
The latest round of U.S. diplomacy will fail without additional leverage.
Op-eds
Tehran and its proxies are willing to sacrifice the welfare of ordinary Yemenis to keep the conflict
“There is no military solution to the conflict,” says the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths. Iranian officials agree, at least in public, yet Tehran keeps sending weapons to the Houthi r...