Houthi
Overview
The Houthi (Houthi, Arabic: الحوثيون) are a Zaidi Shia-based political and military organization that grew around Saada Governorate in northern Yemen. Its official name is Ansar Allah (Ansar Allah, "Supporters of God"), and in the West it is commonly called "Houthi" after founder Hussein al-Houthi. In 2014, it captured the capital Sanaa and emerged as a central axis of the Yemeni Civil War, and after 2023, through attacks on Israeli and Western ships in the Red Sea, it became a major actor shaking global maritime logistics and Middle East politics.
Main Content
Origins and Ideology
The roots of the Houthis lie in the Zaidi revival movement that arose in northern Yemen in the 1990s. The Zaidis are a branch of Shia Islam but are doctrinally distinct from Iran's Twelver Shiism, and they have formed a ruling elite in northern Yemen for over 1,000 years. After Yemeni unification in 1990, northern Zaidi forces were politically marginalized, and in 1992 Hussein al-Houthi founded the "Believing Youth" movement, laying its foundation.
Saada Wars and Rise
In 2004, Hussein al-Houthi died in clashes with government forces, and armed struggle began in earnest. Between 2004 and 2010, six "Saada Wars" were fought between government forces and Houthi rebels; in the process, the organization grew militarily and its conflict with Saudi Arabia deepened.
2014 Coup and Yemeni Civil War
After the 2011 "Arab Spring" collapsed Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime, a political vacuum continued. In September 2014, the Houthis captured Sanaa, and in early 2015 they seized the presidential palace, effectively overthrowing the government. In response, a Saudi-led coalition began military intervention in March 2015, expanding the Yemeni Civil War into a large-scale proxy war. The United Nations described it as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with hundreds of thousands of deaths and famine.
Relations with Iran
The Houthis are widely known to receive Iranian political and military support, and Iran has used the Houthis as part of the "Axis of Resistance" as a strategic card to check Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States. However, many analyses say Houthi decision-making is not completely subordinate to Iran.
Red Sea Attacks and International Crisis
After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, the Houthis carried out attacks on merchant ships and warships in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait under the pretext of solidarity with the Gaza Strip. As a result, major shipping companies chose routes around the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Suez Canal, causing global supply chains and freight rates to soar. The United States and Britain launched airstrikes on Houthi bases starting in 2024, and the Houthis again targeted U.S. and British ships, with retaliations repeating.
Latest Developments (2024-2025)
- Continued military conflict with the U.S. and U.K.: Coalition airstrikes such as Operation Poseidon Archer continued in 2024, and the Houthis continued drone and ballistic missile attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
- Controversy over terrorist organization designation: The United States redesignated the Houthis as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDN)" in January 2024, and after the Trump administration took office in 2025, it pushed again for designation as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)", raising the level of pressure.
- Gaza ceasefire and suspension/resumption of attacks: In the early 2025 Gaza ceasefire phase, it temporarily suspended attacks, but as the ceasefire wavered, it resumed attacks on Israel-linked ships, flexibly adjusting its strategy according to the situation.
- Internal governance burden in Yemen: The Houthis operate a de facto government in northern Yemen with taxation, administration, and military mobilization systems, but they also carry structural vulnerabilities such as economic collapse, humanitarian crisis, and internal division.
- Risk of regional escalation: Houthi attacks act as a detonator for Middle East escalation involving Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, and Red Sea shipping lane security remains one of the international community's biggest issues.
Related Topics
- [[Yemeni Civil War]]
- [[Red Sea]]
- [[Axis of Resistance]]
- [[Iran]]
- [[Saudi Arabia]]
- [[Suez Canal]]