Houthis protest against airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Sana’a in September 2015.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen are preparing to officially join the war against the United States and Israel as early as Monday.
Security officials cited by Israeli media indicate that Tehran and Hezbollah are actively pressuring the Yemen-based terror group to escalate and join the fight,” KAN reported.
The news outlet reported:
Security sources in the region told Kan News that pressure from Iran and Hezbollah is increasing on the Houthi rebels in Yemen to join the campaign, and that it is not impossible that this will happen in the coming days, with the end of Eid al-Fitr on Monday.
Declaratively, the Houthis continue to emphasize that they stand on Iran’s side and that they will join the campaign when developments require it.
Sources in the ranks of the forces opposing the Houthis in Yemen told Here News that in recent days the Houthis have increased their forces in the area of the port city of Al-Hodeidah, which could indicate that they are preparing to join the campaign soon.
An Iranian military official briefed local media today on the Houthis’ possible joining of the campaign in the maritime arena – blocking the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea – in the event of an American ground invasion of Iran.
The Houthi Foreign Ministry warned any foreign power against sending forces to the region and expanding the “circle of aggression.” The statement said that the Americans “have put themselves in a major strategic dead end” and are trying to involve others and drag them into the quagmire they have sunk into, but “the free elements among the nation in the region will not allow any foreign intervention.” It also said: “The Republic of Yemen is monitoring the developments and will take the appropriate step regarding them, and will not stand idly by.
Analysts warn that if the Houthis officially enter the war:
Red Sea shipping lanes could be targeted immediately, choking off one of the world’s most critical trade routes
Oil tankers and U.S. naval assets could come under direct attack
Saudi and Gulf energy infrastructure may be hit again, triggering a global energy crisis
Experts have long warned that the Houthis act as a strategic “force multiplier” for Iran, capable of stretching U.S. and Israeli defenses across multiple fronts simultaneously, The Soufan Center reported.
Nearly 30 oil tankers are already sitting vulnerable near key shipping routes, effectively becoming floating targets if the Houthis pull the trigger, according to The Times.
New York Post reported:
The Houthis have missile and drone capabilities which they used to harass shipping after Israel’s war with Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack inside the Jewish state.
Houthi spokesman Abed al-Thawr told Iran’s state-run Press TV “all options are on the table” and threatened a naval blockade against the US and Israel.
Iran and its allies are “going up the ladder of escalation, quite methodically, whatever is being done to them they’re, in turn, doing to the Gulf states” and other tactics, said Amir Handjani of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
That is what Iran did in a revenge attack on two Gulf neighbors, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, after Israel struck its main natural gas field last week.
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