Houthis and their supporters hold up pictures of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at a rally in Sana’a [Getty]
The leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced on Thursday that his group stands alongside Iran amid the US-Israeli war on the country, saying fighters from the Yemeni rebel movement are “ready to move militarily if developments require it”.
In a televised speech broadcast by media outlets affiliated with the movement, al-Houthi said his position is to “stand by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian people”, saying that “our hands are on the trigger whenever developments require it”.
The Iran-backed Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have controlled the Yemeni capital Sanaa and most of northern Yemen since 2014, amid a protracted and complex conflict involving Saudi Arabia and, previously, the UAE.
When the Gaza War broke out in 2023, the group targeted ships they said were linked to Israel around the strategic Bab Al-Mandab strait, while launching rockets at Israel, saying this was in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
However, in July 2025, they agreed to a ceasefire with Washington following American strikes targeting the movement and have been relatively quiet since the war on Iran began.
Al-Houthi accused Israel of engaging in an open war against the countries and peoples of the Middle East, saying it “wants to keep its hand completely free to target any people or force in the region without controls or restrictions”.
He also accused the US and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a direct confrontation with Iran, amid Iranian strikes targeting US bases in Gulf countries and civilian infrastructure.
Speaking about the military developments, Al-Houthi said Iran’s position is “strong both officially and among the public”.
He praised the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian army in the ongoing confrontation, as well as the operations carried out by Lebanon’s Hezbollah against Israel, describing them as a “strong move that surprised its opponents”.
Despite Al-Houthi’s comments, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned of the dangers of Yemen being drawn into the war and stressed the need to protect the country from once again becoming a battleground for regional conflicts.
