Power in Slippers: How the Houthis Made a Comeback and Who Is Reaping the Benefits of the New War in the Middle East

Over the past few weeks, the civil war in Yemen has flared up with renewed intensity – the pro-Iranian Yemeni Houthis have launched a full-scale offensive against government forces backed by Saudi Arabia, and the ceasefire, which had held for more than four years, has finally collapsed.

The rebels, who control the northwestern part of the country, attacked Riyadh International Airport and struck infrastructure belonging to Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. After three weeks of successful advances along the country’s western coast, the militants managed to capture cities located near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – a strategically important waterway for the global economy.

The internationally recognized government of Yemen, with Saudi support, attempted a counteroffensive: in early October, Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Council, announced a full-scale campaign to regain control of the country.

How did the rebels, in their meme slippers and with a constant qat in their cheeks, regain their strength for a new offensive, and why are they succeeding? Will the Houthis manage to create a new major crisis in the Middle East, and who stands to benefit from their victory? – as reported by Channel 24.

How it all began and what’s happening on the front lines now

Back in July of this year, the Houthis, also known as “Ansar Allah” (“Partisans of Allah” – Channel 24), used drones and missiles to strike Saudi Arabian oil facilities, carried out a series of provocations, and announced a “naval blockade” of Saudi ports located on the Red Sea coast.

This effectively put an end to the fragile, yet four-year-long ceasefire that had been agreed upon in April 2022 – with UN mediation – between Saudi Arabia, the official Yemeni government along with its allied forces, and the “Ansar Allah” movement.

In August 2026, the Houthis repeatedly struck the government-controlled city of Mocha, as well as its port and surrounding positions, using ballistic missiles, drones, and booby-trapped boats. At the same time, they attempted to breach the front lines in the west of Taiz Province.

It was at this very moment that everyone remembered the Yemeni insurgents in their slippers, and Channel 24 devoted a separate, in-depth article to their activities. It can now be said that those August operations were reconnaissance missions ahead of a full-scale resumption of activity. These preparatory attacks allowed the Houthis to identify key defensive positions, estimate the time it would take for reinforcements to arrive, and test how government-controlled forces would respond to simultaneous pressure.

The very next month, as a result of a lightning-fast Houthi offensive, up to 130 kilometers of the southwestern Red Sea coastline came under their control. On September 10, 2026, following the retreat of government forces, rebels seized the port city of Mocha, as well as the strategically important islands of Zukar, Ganish, and Perim (Mayun), located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis captured the city of Mocha and seized rich spoils – watch the video:

The speed with which the defenses collapsed is attributed to the disunity within the anti-Houthi camp. The armed groups defending the coast against the Houthis – in particular the “National Shield Forces,” the “Giants Brigade,” and the “Tihama Brigade” – are not actually a regular army but are largely coordinated with the government and operate under their own separate leadership. In other words, field commanders were effectively fighting against other field commanders, each with their own objectives and little motivation to fight to the bitter end.

Within a few days, Ansar Allah forces launched an active offensive aimed at completely encircling Taiz – Yemen’s third-largest city, control of which opens the way to the current capital of the internationally recognized government – the city of Aden (note that the traditional capital, Sana’a, has been under Houthi control for 12 years. We’ll explain how and why this happened later).

Finally sensing a real threat, on October 4, the Yemeni government announced Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” launching a full-scale campaign against Houthi forces. According to Al Arabiya, government forces, supported by Saudi airpower, recaptured parts of the territory along the Red Sea coast, regained control of Mocha, and began the battle for Taiz, which was surrounded by rebels.

Houthi-controlled territory and positions recaptured by Yemeni government forces as a result of the counteroffensive / Infographic – BBC

“This operation aims to restore the integrity of the Republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire country,” said Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Council and Yemen’s internationally recognized leader.

The Houthis responded to the offensive in an Iranian-style manner – by launching strikes against Saudi Arabian territory. In addition to shelling oil infrastructure, the rebels carried out a series of attacks on airports. In particular, on October 10, during an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, 13 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded. The very next day, the same airport came under fire again, resulting in the death of one more person.

The Houthis fired ballistic missiles, which they claim to have assembled by hand in caves using blueprints allegedly created with the help of AI. Of course, this isn’t the whole truth; there’s a 99% chance Iran is behind this, as it has traditionally acted as the “big brother” to the rebels (but it’s not just Iran – read to the end to find out who’s behind the Houthis’ ballistic missile program).

Indeed, all these success stories about master craftsmen creating unique prompts instead of neuroslop from Yemeni caves seem more like a cover-up and a new version of the story about “the people of Donbas who accidentally found weapons in the mines.” The reality, however, may be far from so AI-optimistic.

However, the fact remains – the missiles traveled over 1,000 kilometers unimpeded, surprising Saudi Arabia, as there was no warning of the attack. Incidentally, during the Trump administration, the Kingdom was granted the important and honorable status of a major U.S. ally outside of NATO; however, this designation did not save the civilians at the airport.

On October 13, the headquarters of Saudi Aramco in Dhahran came under attack. In response, Riyadh struck an oil storage facility near Sana’a, after which a Houthi spokesperson declared the group’s intention to continue attacks deep into the country. On October 15, the rebels shelled the Presidential Palace in Aden, and on October 17, they attacked the city’s international airport.

What the Houthis Want Now

The rebels’ main goal remains the same as before – to establish themselves as the sole authority throughout Yemen. The “Ansar Allah” movement emerged in the early 1990s. For two decades now, it has been fighting the Yemeni government for control over the entire country.

Houthis out for a stroll. Notice the cheeks and hands of one of the guerrillas. That’s the local drug “qat.” It serves the same function as “pervitin” did for the Wehrmacht during World War II and is one of the secrets to the insurgents’ success / Photo: AFP

The partisans grew out of Zaidism, a specific religious and cultural branch of Shia Islam to which about one-third of Yemen’s population belongs. The organization was founded on the basis of the “Youth of the Believers” group and named after its founder, Hussein al-Houthi, who was killed by Yemeni government forces in 2004.

In the early 2000s, the Houthis launched several uprisings against Yemen’s authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Following the “Arab Spring,” the rebels began to rapidly gain popularity and accumulate resources. In 2014, the Houthis seized Sana’a and forced the government to flee to Aden.

The Houthis have been in power in parts of Yemen for over a decade / Photo – Getty Images

In 2015, they took control of a significant portion of western Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the government. According to the UN, the fighting has since claimed the lives of more than 377,000 people and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises: currently, more than 22 million people in the country are in need of some form of assistance.

The current Houthi leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, has stated his desire to gain access to the country’s oil and gas revenues, to halt Saudi military operations in Yemen, to receive compensation for the war, and to end Riyadh’s support for the internationally recognized government. In addition, he emphasized that Saudi Arabia and Yemen must ensure free movement through ports and airports controlled by the Houthis.

The policy of Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of the Ansar Allah movement, encompasses everything from financial gain and military victory over rivals to aspirations to expand power and influence throughout the region. / Photo – AFP

But the key strategic objective of the current Houthi offensive is to establish control over the Bab el-Mandeb – the strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, which is one of the world’s most important maritime routes.

It is through this strait that various goods travel from Asia to Western countries, and crude oil and liquefied natural gas are transported from Arab states to European and North American markets.

Tehran’s most important asset in the region

For Iran, the Ansar Allah movement is a vital investment and the most combat-effective group within the so-called “Axis of Resistance” – a coalition of pro-Iranian groups that also includes the Lebanese "Hezbollah," "Islamic Resistance," and the "Popular Mobilization Forces" in Iraq; the Afghan "Fatimiyun Brigade"; the Pakistani “Zainabiyun Brigade,” as well as Hamas and the “Islamic Jihad” movement in Palestine.

Contacts between Tehran and the Houthis began as early as the 1990s, and since then, the ties between them have only grown stronger. Thanks to Iran’s assistance, the movement has transformed from a small rebel group hiding in the mountains of Yemen into an army numbering hundreds of thousands of fighters and controlling one-third of the country.

Rebels holding posters depicting the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, at a demonstration in support of Iran in the war against the U.S. / Photo – iranintl.com

Today, the rebels’ arsenal includes ballistic and cruise missiles, various attack drones, unmanned boats, and sea mines, which they use to attack ships in the Red Sea and targets within Saudi Arabia.

However, Iran does not merely supply the Houthis with weapons; it has helped them establish an autonomous military-industrial complex. Thanks to this system, even if direct supply routes from Iran are cut off, the Houthis can now assemble drones and missiles in small workshops in the mountains using whatever materials are at hand.

It is thanks to Tehran that the Houthis possess ballistic and cruise missiles. / Photo – Mohammed Huwais/AFP

Tehran also provides financial support to the rebels. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Iran helps the Houthis earn more than $2 billion a year from the illegal oil trade. This money supplements the Houthis’ own revenue system, which they have built in the territories under their control: taxes, customs duties, and religious donations.

Since 2024, the Houthis’ importance to Tehran has grown even further. The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and the brutal war with Israel, which significantly weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon, have left the “axis of resistance” that Iran had been building for decades severely depleted. Against this backdrop, the Houthis have become Tehran’s most valuable asset and most important regional ally.

Unlike other pro-Iranian groups, the Houthis still retain a certain degree of autonomy in their decisions and actions. But having a patron like Tehran allows the Houthis to receive not only weapons and money but also assistance from Iran’s other allies – China and Russia.

Covert Aid from Moscow and Beijing

According to Bloomberg, China hypocritically emphasizes the need to maintain peace in the Middle East while simultaneously supplying the Houthis with dual-use goods that have both military and civilian applications.

Widespread access to Chinese components – ranging from engines and electronics to GPS modules and composites – allows the Houthis to freely purchase most parts for attack drones through regular commercial channels.

Chinese dual-use materials, which the Houthis likely use to manufacture missiles, were confiscated by the Yemeni government aboard the CMA CGM Verdi at the Port of Aden in June 2025 / Photo: The Aden Counter Terrorism Unit

Russian support for the Houthis is part of the Kremlin’s strategy, which involves global confrontation with the West and strengthening armed groups hostile to it.

Moscow has not publicly acknowledged providing direct assistance, but according to Al Jazeera, it was thanks to intelligence provided by the Russians that the Houthis were able to seize the Red Sea coast and are now capable of launching strikes against Saudi Arabia.

In 2024, the Ansar Allah movement pledged to guarantee safe passage for Russian ships in the Red Sea. Reports also pointed to the Houthis’ involvement in recruiting “hundreds” of Yemenis to participate in combat operations as part of Russian forces against Ukraine. Two Russian state news agencies, RIA Novosti and TASS, also maintain ties with pro-Iranian rebels.

On October 12, 2026, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko confirmed to journalists that Russia has long maintained contacts with the “Ansar Allah” group, adding that “this is well known.”

Why the Houthis Are Attacking Saudi Arabia

While the Houthis consider Iran their closest ally and China and Russia their friends, they view Saudi Arabia as their greatest enemy.

Riyadh became embroiled in the Yemeni war almost immediately after the Houthis seized Sana’a in 2014 and forced the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee. In March 2015, the kingdom led a coalition of ten countries and launched airstrikes against rebel positions to restore Hadi to power.

However, the operation launched at that time by Mohammed bin Salman, the young Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has turned into the longest war in the kingdom’s modern history.

Houthi fighters pose near the wreckage of a downed F-15 belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force / Photo – Houthi Media Center

It is precisely because of Riyadh’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government that the Houthis have come to hate the Saudis and blame the kingdom for all their problems. Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi even stated that the Saudis are unworthy of ruling Mecca and suggested that his supporters would have done a much better job of protecting Islam’s holiest city.

As the rebels explained, the strikes on Saudi Arabian territory were a response to Riyadh depriving them of the ability to conduct maritime trade and closing the airspace over the areas of Yemen under their control. But the final straw was an attack by the kingdom’s air force on the runway at Sana’a International Airport, just as a Houthi delegation was returning by plane from Iran.

Added to their own motives are the interests of the Houthis’ greatest ally – Tehran. Saudi Arabia is Iran’s main regional rival, and after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh was forced to reroute a significant portion of its oil exports to ports on the Red Sea. Consequently, this alternative route has now become a target: according to the Crisis Group, the transit of Saudi oil through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has dropped to nearly zero, and the "East–West" oil pipeline was shut down following attacks on pumping stations. Iran has effectively gained the ability to exert pressure on the Saudis without getting drawn into a direct conflict with the kingdom.

Who Benefits from the New Crisis in the Middle East

The war in Yemen is already affecting the global economy, particularly the oil market. International exchanges react to every new attack: following numerous Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the strike on the airport in Riyadh, Brent crude oil jumped to $110 per barrel, and the International Energy Agency warned that supply constraints in the diesel market could last until 2027.

Iran stands to gain the most from this turn of events. Due to Trump’s war against Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and now alternative routes for oil and gas supplies from Arab states are also under threat.

The East-West oil pipeline, which carries Saudi oil to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, has been hit, and transit through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has dropped to nearly zero. Without direct involvement, Iran is gaining leverage over its main regional rival. It is telling that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called his Saudi counterpart to discuss the escalation and assure him that Iran had nothing to do with it.

For Russia, high oil prices are always a cause for great celebration. The more expensive oil and gas become on global markets, and the fewer supply routes remain, the more demand for Russian energy resources grows. Thanks to this, the Kremlin is receiving additional resources and funds for the war against Ukraine.

The Houthis’ ability to seize all of Yemen appears doubtful: the government has successfully counterattacked, recaptured part of the coastline, and regained control of the strategic strait. But following Rashad al-Alimi’s statement that he intends to fight until authority is restored across the entire country, it has become clear that “there will be no peaceful solution,” and a swift end to the war is not to be expected. The government is being aided by one of the most heavily armed Arab states, Saudi Arabia; however, its strength alone is not enough to definitively defeat the Houthis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif pose after signing a mutual defense agreement, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. / Photo – Saudi Press Agency

On October 5, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan agreed to activate deterrence measures and rapidly deploy troops to the kingdom as part of the “Mecca Agreement” – a defense alliance between the countries that experts describe as the Middle Eastern equivalent of NATO.

However, the joint statement does not specify exactly what role the troops will play. Egypt is also ready to support Riyadh in the fight against insurgents. But the allies are more likely to strengthen the defense of Saudi Arabia itself than to take direct part in operations against the insurgents.

U.S. President Donald Trump shows Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a chart of U.S. defense contracts with the kingdom, White House, March 20, 2018 / Photo – Mandel Ngan / AFP

Saudi Arabia’s main strategic partner – the United States – could help it counter the Houthis. But according to media reports, Donald Trump initially refused a request from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to strike the Houthis, and later merely stated that he was considering such a possibility. Apparently, it is easier for President Trump to buy diesel from Russia – thereby directly financing Russia’s war against Ukraine – than to deal with the cause of rising oil prices and Iran’s closest ally in the region.