War in Yemen: The Houthi rebels take over Yemen

With the landing of an Iranian airliner in mid-July, the relative ceasefire in Yemen ended after four years. On July 13, the Iranian Mahan Air plane approached the runway in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. On board: a delegation from the Yemeni Houthi militia returning from the funeral of Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader. And according to media reports, commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Iranian military advisors and equipment for drones and missiles were also on board.

Yemen has been divided for over a decade, with the west under Houthi control and the east under the government and factions close to it. The government responded promptly to the Iranian plane. It bombed the runway and the airliner diverted to an airport in the coastal city of Hodeidah. The Houthi militia then blamed Saudi Arabia and announced a blockade of ships linked to its northern neighbor. They have to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the Yemeni coast to reach the ports on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

A mess, because since the war between Iran, the USA and Israel broke out at the end of February, Iran has been blocking the Strait of Hormuz off its coast. Like the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Strait of Hormuz is extremely important to the global economy. A fifth of the world's energy supply passed through it before the war. Although exports are now possible again thanks to ship-to-ship transfers and a US counter-campaign, their number remains well below pre-war levels. This makes alternative routes all the more important.

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Saudi Arabia, for example, now sends 70 percent of its exports across the Red Sea. This export option has weakened the blockade effect that Iran wanted to achieve with the Strait of Hormuz - up to and including the blockade on the Red Sea. The commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, said: “The new security belt of the resistance” is now between Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.

Since October 2023, Iran has repeatedly drawn the Houthis as a trump card from the pool of militias it supports. At that time, Palestinian militias supported by Tehran invaded southern Israel, and the war began in the Gaza Strip. Then the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which is also supported by Iran, got involved. Both engage in small-scale battles with the Israeli military; Both have lost massive ground and are shadows of their former selves. The Houthis, however, brought the war into the global economy long before Iran itself did so from February 2026.

The group repeatedly attacked shipping on its coast: between 2023 and 2025, more than 178 ships were affected and four were sunk. Large shipping companies diverted their cargo ships around Africa for months, and prices rose.

And the blockade has been in place since July. Military analyst Ali al-Dahab says no missiles are needed to close the strait. The threat is “effective without actually having to be implemented.”

Local sources repeatedly report that Iranian influence is growing among the Houthis. The counteroffensive began with the attack on the runway in July. The government's armed forces and troops close to it are advancing on the ground against the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia is attacking from the air.

The success of this campaign has been mixed so far. Also because there is still no consensus among the anti-Houthi forces about what Yemen should look like in the future. In the north, on the border with Saudi Arabia, government troops have so far gained land and are pushing the Houthis back. In the southwest of the country, on the coast of Bab al-Mandab, the Houthis are gaining land. The city of Mocha - whose port used to export coffee from Yemen - fell to the militia on Thursday.

Iran will take this as a point. But the game for dominance in Yemen is not over yet.