Houthis

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah or Ansarallah, are a Yemeni armed movement and de facto governing authority over large parts of northern Yemen, including Sanaa. They are widely assessed as an Iran-backed militant and political actor and have been designated as a terrorist organization by multiple governments at different times. The group emerged from Yemen’s Zaydi revivalist movement and evolved into a major insurgent force in the Yemeni civil war, fighting the internationally recognized Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. The Houthis are known for combining insurgent warfare, missile and unmanned aerial vehicle operations, maritime coercion, propaganda, and transnational facilitation networks. They have repeatedly targeted Saudi and Emirati interests with drones and missiles, including major Saudi energy infrastructure. They have also conducted sustained attacks against commercial shipping and naval targets in and around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb, creating significant disruption to international maritime trade and regional energy flows. Reporting also attributes to the group attempted or alleged attacks affecting broader critical infrastructure, including undersea communications cables, though such claims are not always independently confirmed. Operationally, the group has demonstrated the ability to employ ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, one-way attack drones, maritime threats, and layered targeting against vessels and fixed infrastructure. Their maritime campaign has included attacks on commercial vessels, declared blockades, and selective signaling around which ships may transit safely, reflecting both coercive intent and political messaging. The Houthis have also paired kinetic operations with information operations designed to frame themselves as a legitimate regional resistance actor rather than solely a Yemeni insurgent movement. Financially and logistically, the Houthis have relied on support networks tied to Iran and to facilitators operating across shipping, commodities, and sanctions-evasion ecosystems. Public sanctions actions have linked Houthi-associated networks to procurement of weapons and dual-use goods, movement of commodities, and use of cryptocurrency for financing and procurement. Reporting has also described Houthi use of digital assets to support acquisition of military-related equipment, including unmanned systems components and counter-drone capabilities. The group is frequently discussed alongside other Iran-aligned actors in the so-called Axis of Resistance, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iraqi Shi'a militias. While the Houthis have issued threats and media statements connected to regional conflicts and have targeted international commerce in the Middle East, available reporting in this context indicates they have generally prioritized regional military and maritime targets over conducting terrorist attacks inside the United States. The movement’s leadership is centered on the al-Houthi family, with Abdulmalik al-Houthi serving as its best-known leader. The Houthis have also been accused of repression in areas under their control, including detention and abuse of political opponents, journalists, minorities, and international personnel. Overall, the Houthis represent a hybrid militant, political, and quasi-state actor whose significance extends beyond Yemen through missile and drone warfare, maritime disruption, sanctions evasion, and alignment with Iranian regional strategy.