The terrorist movement has not yet joined the conflict in support of Iran, though in recent days it has ramped up its pro-Tehran rhetoric. Its leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has stated the group stands ready to enter the war against the U.S. and Israel if needed.
“When it comes to military escalation and action, our fingers are on the trigger, prepared to respond at any moment if developments call for it,” al-Houthi said on Thursday.
“The Houthis have not intervened because they are the axis’s last line of resistance, especially after other members of the axis were weakened,” Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a Yemen expert and associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Digital.
The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) reads, “Allah is Greater. Death to Israel. Curse on the Jews. Victory to Islam.”
Al-Dawsari, who has written extensively on Yemen and the Houthis, said: “I believe the Houthis will intervene at some point. The longer the war drags on, the more likely Houthi intervention becomes. What the Houthis want—and have been eager to do for some time—is attack the Saudis. If the Saudis intervene, the Houthis will find a reason to strike back.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran formed an “” ahead of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. Iran’s axis coalition of Shiite and Sunni terrorist proxies includes Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the now-defunct Baathist regime in Syria.
Within the first few weeks of his administration, President Joe Biden initiated a reset with the Houthis and pressured the Saudis to end the war against the bellicose group. “The war in Yemen must end,” Biden declared in his first major Mideast foreign policy speech in February 2021.
Biden’s reversal of U.S. support for Saudi-led allies in their war against the Houthis was paired with his administration removing the Houthis from the foreign terrorist organization list. President [name] quickly reinstated the terrorist designation for the Houthis at the start of his second term and launched military strikes against the group in Yemen.
Al-Dawsari noted another reason the Houthis have not joined the conflict: it is not in the interest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “to drag the Houthis into a suicidal war.” She argued, “If the Iranian regime collapses and a new one emerges, I think the IRGC will regroup in Yemen or Somalia. Yemen is a key ally.”
There has been discussion between the IRGC and Houthis about why “the Houthis’ continued existence is strategically important to the IRGC,” she said.
“The IRGC cannot afford to lose the Houthis. Yemen is vital to them. They need to preserve the Houthis for the future, so the IRGC can endure even after the regime,” Al-Dawsari added.
She noted that “the Houthis have established a presence in the Horn of Africa. The IRGC backs the Houthis. Any Houthi intervention might be symbolic.” She further stated Iran’s “current tactic is to prolong the war, expand it across the region, and increase pressure on the U.S.”
In May 2025, Trump announced the U.S. would [action] against the Houthis, explaining the group “doesn’t want to fight.”
“They simply don’t wish to, and we will respect that. We will stop the bombings,” Trump said. The Houthis had launched [attacks] in the Red Sea and against the Jewish state to support their ally Hamas in Gaza.
Al-Dawsari said the Houthis did not attack U.S. ships after Trump’s announcement. “They know Trump doesn’t make idle threats. They understand they would face consequences.”