What Do the Houthis Want?

Not that long ago, the Strait of Hormuz was something I never really thought about. Now I write about it all the time. And suddenly we’re all obsessed with another strategic strait that until recently most of us couldn’t place on a map: the Bab al-Mandab.

It connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and has been the main workaround for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But as of last week, it was claimed by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia.

The Houthis are on a roll. They have intermittently made headlines over the years for disrupting shipping in the Red Sea and for their alliance with Iran. And now they’ve become meaningful players in a conflict that is hurting economies around the world. We are likely to hear a lot more about them. So who are they? And what exactly do they want? I spoke to my colleague Vivian Nereim, our Gulf bureau chief, to find out.

Unlikely power players

Vivian, give me the 101 version: Who are the Houthis?

In the early 2000s, they were this ragtag militia in northern Yemen — rebels with guns who were fighting the central government. But over the past decade or so, they’ve become these unlikely power players in the region. They fought a Saudi-led military coalition to a quasi-draw in Yemen’s civil war. They became a headache for the United States and the rest of the world when they started attacking shipping in the Red Sea in 2023. They’ve also become more sophisticated. A recent report from Anthropic had a section suggesting they tried to use Claude to design guidance systems for rockets. People all over the world are kind of fascinated by them.

The Houthis lord over a repressive de facto state that provides limited services to its impoverished people. They can be incredibly brutal. They believe they have a divine mandate to rule. Their slogan calls for death to America and Israel and “a curse upon the Jews.”

But they’re also these underdogs who have consistently defied expectations. Time and time again, they’ve gone up against much bigger, wealthier foes. And time and again, those foes have been forced to back down.

When we talk about the Houthis, we always call them an “Iranian-backed militia.” How does Iran fit in here?

The Houthis get support and weaponry from Iran and have been important allies. And their current ability to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait is giving Iran extra leverage in its war at a crucial time. But it’s important to understand that they’re doing this for themselves as much as they’re doing it for Iran. They very much have their own goals.

Which are?

The Houthis describe themselves as the liberators and legitimate leaders of Yemen. That pits them against the Saudi-backed government. The Houthis say they want the Saudis out, by which they mean they want the Saudis to stop supporting their Yemeni foes. They also want money, like access to Yemeni oil revenue and war reparations from Saudi Arabia, among other things. And they’re picking this moment to make a big push.

Let’s step back. Who actually governs Yemen?

It’s complicated. There’s an internationally recognized Yemeni government, but a lot of people call them a quote-unquote “government.” At this point, the government is effectively a bunch of armed groups and other entities, under a council of eight different men.

Some Yemenis on the ground call them the “hotel government” because they basically live in hotels in Riyadh and they have, you know, not a whole lot of credibility. They’re beholden to Saudi Arabia, which spent years bombing Yemen and is not popular there.

So the Houthis now describe themselves as the state of Yemen. Yes, they’re a pariah group, they’re under sanctions and we refer to them as a militia. Humanitarian conditions in northern Yemen, which they control, are desperate. But they do provide relative security in their territory under one unified authority, which many Yemenis complain that the Yemeni government does not. The economic situation is also not much better in government territory.

What are the Saudis doing about this latest push? Can they do anything about it?

It’s a really bad scenario for them. Their last war against the Houthis was a disaster in every way — for humanitarian reasons, for their reputation, for their finances — and they didn’t even achieve their goals. They basically lost, and the Houthis have only become more powerful since. Now they have to decide: Do they get together a coalition to fight back? The U.S. has pretty much said it won’t get involved.

Saudi Arabia is supposed to host the World Cup in 2034. It’s hosting the World Expo in 2030. It really just needs to get the Houthis under control and nothing has worked.

So, zooming out, what does this mean for the Middle East and the Iran war?

In a way, Saudi Arabia’s situation is emblematic of the broader Gulf dilemma: What do they do now? They can’t really take on Iran head-on. They’re not strong enough. The U.S. has become as much of a liability as a help, but they also don’t have any alternatives.

That leaves diplomacy as the only real option, but diplomacy right now is kind of humiliating for them given that Iran has been attacking them for months.

One major lesson of the Houthis is the extent to which geography can be power, even for the most seemingly unlikely group, if they’re savvy about it. Take Iran: Even if the Iranian state collapsed, you could still have a dire situation with the Strait of Hormuz because armed groups and militias could still easily disrupt it. A few guys with a few drones can pose a big threat. We know that in part because of the Houthis.

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Ras el hanout, a fragrant Moroccan spice blend, gives this chickpea and spinach stew an aromatic depth. Serve with a generous spoonful of yogurt (or a squeeze of lemon) and a drizzle of harissa oil to cut through the richness.