In carrying out maritime raids in the Red Sea, launching attacks on Saudi Arabia and collaborating with militant groups such as Al Shabab, the Houthi rebels are becoming “more dangerous” than their ally Hezbollah, the former US Deputy Special Envoy for Yemen said.
Allison Minor spoke to The National hours before Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that fresh Houthi attacks injured dozens and struck energy sites, causing fires and halting operations.
It was one of the biggest attacks by the Yemeni rebels against the kingdom in recent years, further highlighting the growing threat posed by the rebels as they step up attacks in tandem with the escalating conflict between Iran and the US.
“Hezbollah is a pure Iranian proxy, but the Houthis have their own ambitions and see themselves as a partner to Iran, and not a junior partner necessarily,” Ms Minor said in an interview on the sidelines of the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.
“The Houthis are more dangerous. They have at times been more reckless in pursuing their vision than Tehran,” added Ms Minor, who served as director for Arabian Peninsula affairs during the first Trump administration and is currently the director of the Atlantic Council's Project for Middle East Integration.
Over the past decade, the Iran-backed group has slowly transformed from a local armed faction into a wider force, threatening neighbouring countries and attacking shipping lanes while consolidating its control over the capital Sanaa and north-western Yemen.
But it is the Houthis' close relationship with Iran's main regional proxy, Hezbollah, that has taught them how to extend their reach beyond Yemen to diversify sources and resources while advancing Tehran's goals in new regions.
Now that Hezbollah, which was established by Iranians in the 1980s, is at its weakest after several wars with Israel, the Yemeni rebels appear to be not only inheriting its regional proxy role and the threat it once posed, but also expanding both.
In July, they stepped up attacks in the Red Sea as the Iran-US war escalated into another exchange of fire, in what appeared to be a show of support for Tehran, their main backer.
“The Yemen conflict is becoming more intertwined and creates a vicious cycle where conflicts in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq can sustain the Iran conflict and make it more difficult to resolve while creating more reciprocal relationships with each other,” Ms Minor said.
Crossing the red line
The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which began after the Israeli war on Gaza in 2023, derailed a truce agreement with Saudi Arabia that came into effect a year earlier. Analysts believe the Houthis are also trying to drag Saudi Arabia into another conflict through a recent escalation of attacks, in order to reach another deal. But it may be too late.
“I think they’re already starting to cross the red line,” Ms Minor said.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia described the latest wave of attacks as a “dangerous escalation” by the Houthis, and said they demonstrated the rebels' continued deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, in violation of international humanitarian law and international law. It vowed to retaliate.
Recent attacks are not currently at the scale seen before the truce, with more than 400 ballistic missiles and 851 drones being fired at Saudi Arabia since 2015.
Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and large areas of western and northern Yemen, have been found to provide weapons and training to Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabab militant group in exchange for a cut of ransom money that Al Shabab collects from ships using armed pirates.
This development is “concerning”, Ms Minor said. “It's still early days, but we should not underestimate the current co-operation in the same way people underestimated Houthi co-operation in Iran in 2014 and 2015.”
US hesitancy over Yemen
The Houthis have an estimated troop strength, according to the US-based Middle East Institute, of 350,000, including child soldiers, forcibly conscripted African refugees and foreign mercenaries.
The rebels rely primarily on cross-border smuggling networks and complex maritime supply routes that extend across the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea to secure a significant portion of their military and logistical needs, including weapons, drone components, ballistic missiles, and technology and equipment related to naval capabilities.
Security sources said relationships with smugglers, intermediaries and organised crime networks, as well as elements and groups active on the African side of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, were vital components of the logistical support system. This could include transporting shipments or providing intermediate points, and rerouting them in ways that minimise the likelihood of detection and interception.
Ms Minor believes military power can be used as a pressure tool, but is not a solution to the Houthi problem. The US did attack their positions last year, but announced a truce in May 2025.
Ms Minor was among several Yemen experts who testified to Congress last week on the need for US support for the Yemeni government in the fight against the group. But she does not think that help is coming soon.
“Unfortunately, the current US policy of the Trump administration is to try not to worry about Yemen,” she said. Since the ceasefire announcement, there has been a “hesitancy” to talk about the Houthis and the situation in Yemen “because that admits the ceasefire wasn’t a success”.
