Envisioning Status as a Regional Power

 

"This Houthi force now poses a direct, existential threat to Israeli navigation and sovereignty, consistently targeting US naval assets in the Red Sea and disrupting global maritime commerce." 

"Recent events starkly underscore this new reality. The Houthis are no longer a localized insurgency. They are launching drones and missiles at Israel with alarming regularity. Just days ago, Israeli jets conducted retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, a testament to the direct and immediate danger posed to Israel’s southern flank and maritime approaches."

"The Houthi aggression has crippled Israel’s port of Eilat, with operations plummeting by 85% and the port reportedly declaring bankruptcy, forcing vital shipping to undertake costly and time-consuming detours around Africa. This strategic incapacitation of a key Israeli economic and logistical artery is a direct result of the Houthi’s enhanced capabilities, cultivated during the protracted Saudi war." 

"From a strategic perspective, the principal beneficiary of this conflict is undeniably Iran. The Houthis, initially a disparate, indigenous rebel group, have been transformed into Tehran’s most potent and aggressive non-state actor in the Arab world. They now possess a sophisticated arsenal of Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles and advanced drones, extending Iran’s arc of influence far beyond its immediate borders."

"Their declared war on Israel, manifested in missile launches toward Eilat and attacks on commercial shipping, directly impacts US and Israeli security. Rather than containing Iran, Saudi Arabia’s intervention created a new, robust southern front for the Islamic Republic, forcing Israel and the US Navy to expend significant resources cleaning up a mess that Riyadh largely created. We see this in the ongoing US and allied naval presence in the Red Sea and Israeli defensive actions against Houthi projectiles."

Amine Ayoub, Jerusalem Post 

Houthi protesters hold weapons during a demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen, May 30, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/Adel Al Khader)

 

"[The attacks represent a] power move [enabling the Houthis to] project more power regionally and internationally."

"[In comparison with their [missile and drone] attacks on Israel, with limited success, the Houthis' attacks on shipping had proved] a very efficient way to make the entire West, and most of the east, bleed."

Farea Al-Muslimi, research fellow, Chatham House, British think tank

 

"They've ensured that their presence is always felt [achieving a high profile]."

"Transit via the Bab al-Mandeb Strait remains low compared to 2023 -- a drop by over 50 percent."

"The Houthis appear to have more freedom now to assault freedom of navigation."

Noam Raydan, Washington Institute for Near East Policy 

Smoke rises from a fire following an Israeli air strike in Hodeidah, Yemen in this handout photo released on July 20, 2024. (photo credit: HOUTHI MEDIA CENTRE/Handout via REUTERS)

 

Attacks on Red Sea shipping have been resumed by Yemen's Houthi terrorists who claim their aim is to force Israel to declare a ceasefire in Gaza. According to the Iranian proxy terrorists, the two vessels they attacked earlier in the week -- the Magic Seas and the Eternity C -- were linked to trade with Israel and therefore, in their mindset, legitimate targets. Their motivation to resume attacks on maritime shipping after a six-month hiatus appears puzzling.

 

Since Israel's invasion of Gaza to conduct its hunt for Hamas terrorist operatives following the October 7 2023 storming of Israeli farming communities in southern Israel by thousands of Palestinians dispatched by Gaza's Hamas leaders to commit mass murder, rape, mutilation and hostage-taking, Yemen's Houthis, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran's "axis of resistance" joined Hamas and Hezbollah in their campaign to destroy Israel at the behest of their sponsor and beneficiary, Iran. 

 

From their marine piracy's inception, the Houthis launched over 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, since November of 2023, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre operated by navies of the West. Their aim, they assert, is the support of Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas negotiators in Doha were encouraged by the Houthi political leader Mahdi al-Mashat to "negotiate with your heads held high, for we are with you and all the resources of our people will support you" until the conflict is finished.

 

Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, hold weapons to mark the annual al-Quds Day on the last Friday of Ramadan, in Sana'a, Yemen, March 28, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

 

Analysts of the situation appear to have come to a conclusion that diverges from the general assumption that the Houthi activities relate specifically to defence of Hamas, pointing instead to the high likelihood of yet another entirely different reasoning. One that surfaced in the wake of the 12-day Israeli aerial bombardment of Iran when the Republic's allies failed to come to its aid. A hugely reduced Hamas and Hezbollah capability to launch assistive reaction against the pounding that Iran took demonstrated the extent of the devastation suffered by both in challenging Israel militarily.

 

A revelation of a larger role in world affairs has come to the fore, it seems, an ambition revealed that the Houthi leadership envisions a much grander role for itself than merely a proxy of Iran. With Iran in decline along with Hamas and Hezbollah, why not prepare for a larger role within the region as an  unstoppable force gaining the attention of world powers frustrated at the disruption of global shipping and the consequential diminished trade and profit accompanying it?

 

Plumes of smoke rise from what is said to be Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, the MV Magic Seas. This screen grab is taken from a handout video released on July 8, 2025.

Houthi Media Center/Reuters

 

The Houthis have been left as the sole member of the "axis of resistance" to have emerged from its confrontation with Israel and the United States unchastened and unscathed. Slammed by repeated Israeli airstrikes in response to their drone and missile attacks. Surviving an intensive U.S. bombing campaign earlier before reaching an agreement to ceasefire in return for an end to Houthi attacks on shipping, the Yemenite terrorists see an opportunity for themselves to impress upon the international community their prowess in disturbing world marine commerce, worthy of the respect of caution and concern in dealing with them. 

 

The major disruptions to vital shipping lanes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea where about 12 percent of global trade is carried through is a reflection of the power and success of the Houthis whose reputation is now that of a major disrupter in world affairs, a heady aphrodisiac for the Yemenites who feel entitled to recognition for their exceptional status in world affairs as a regional powerhouse yet to be recognized. 

 

Houthi fighters take part in a parade for people who attended Houthi military training as part of a mobilization campaign, in Sanaa, Yemen December 18, 2024.  (photo credit: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo)