SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITY'Separate' They Stand: Despite Iran's Support, Houthi Rebels' Independence Gives Tehran Cover
While the Huthis are using an arsenal of Iranian weapons to wreak havoc in the Red Sea and are considered part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” the Yemen-based rebel group does not necessarily follow Iran’s commands.
While the Houthis are using an arsenal of Iranian weapons to wreak havoc in the Red Sea and are considered part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” the Yemen-based rebel group does not necessarily follow Iran’s commands.
Experts say the two have separated themselves enough to allow the Houthis — who control northern Yemen — to act independently against Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the West, Tehran’s main enemies. The distance also keeps Iran from being drawn into a broader Middle East conflict.
Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, explained that Iran’s support for the Houthis does not make the nonstate militant group an Iranian proxy.
“There is absolutely no doubt that, especially since the outbreak of the war in Yemen, since the Saudi invasion of Yemen in 2015, that Iran has been actively supporting the Houthis in their fight against Saudi Arabia,” he said. “And it continues to support them now, in their expanding campaign against Israel. But it isn’t like Iran created the Houthis or that the Houthis were a subsidiary of the Quds Force,” the foreign arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Jeremy Binnie, a Middle East defense analyst with the global intelligence company Janes, said the question is how much influence Tehran has over what the Houthis do.
That question has increasingly been asked since the Houthis began targeting Israel with missile strikes in response to Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, and most recently following the Houthis’ repeated attacks against maritime vessels in the Red Sea, a major global supply route.
Many consider the Houthis to be “fairly independent and very belligerent,” Binnie said, and “will actually probably go beyond what the Iranians want them to do.” Another view is that considering the likely need for Iranian personnel to operate the more advanced weaponry Tehran provides to the Houthis, that Iran “would have a big say over when and how those weapons are used.”
The Houthis’ arsenal is extensive, including sea and air drones, long-range missiles, and recently unveiled anti-ship missiles.
The Houthis have used such weapons against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, leading the UN Security Council to warn against such attacks prior to the United States and Britain striking dozens of Huthi strategic sites in Yemen on January 12.
