GLOSSARY

Houthis (Ansar Allah): who they are, where they come from, what they want

Updated 11 October 2026

When an article on this site talks about "the Houthis", it assumes the reader knows who they are. Often that is not the case: in the news they appear as "pro-Iranian rebels" or as "terrorists", two labels that say little about their history or about what they are asking for. This entry gathers the essential facts. It can be updated: every change is recorded at the bottom, with date and source.

Who they are

The Houthis are a political, religious and armed movement from northern Yemen. The official name is Ansar Allah, "the supporters of God". "Houthi" comes from the family that founded it and leads it. Since 2014 they have controlled the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north-west, including the port of Hodeidah on the Red Sea, and they govern there as a de facto authority. The UN-recognised government is based in Aden, in the south.

Where they come from

The Houthis emerged from within Zaydism, a branch of Shia Islam present in Yemen since the ninth century and different from the Shiism practised in Iran. States led by Zaydi imams ruled northern Yemen, in various forms, until 1962, when the republican revolution overthrew the last imam (Sana'a Center).

In the early 1990s, in Saada province, a group of clerics launched a Zaydi revival movement made up of lectures, summer camps and recorded sermons. Its leading figure was Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. The movement presented itself as the voice of an oppressed minority and as a response to two developments: the decline of Zaydism's role after the revolution and the spread in the north of Wahhabi Salafism coming from Saudi Arabia (Sana'a Center). In 2004 the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh tried to arrest Hussein al-Houthi; this started the first of six wars in Saada province, which lasted until 2010. Hussein was killed in the first months of fighting, in 2004. Since then the movement has been led by his brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

In 2011 the Houthis took part in the uprising against Saleh under the name Ansar Allah. On 21 September 2014, allied with Saleh himself, they entered Sanaa. On 26 March 2015 a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened against them (Sana'a Center). In December 2017 they killed Saleh, who was switching sides.

What they believe

Their motto, the sarkha ("the scream"), was according to the Houthis first uttered by Hussein al-Houthi in 2002: "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam". It echoes the mottos of the Iranian revolution and of Hezbollah (Sana'a Center). It must be quoted in full because it contains an invective explicitly aimed at Jews, not only at the United States and Israel.

At the heart of their political doctrine is wilayah: the divine right to lead the community in politics and religion, reserved for the descendants of the al-Houthi family. In the areas they control, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is the supreme authority over the economic, judicial and security apparatus. According to the Sana'a Center, only a minority of Yemenis accept this conception of power (Sana'a Center).

The relationship with Iran

The Houthis are part of the "axis of resistance", the network of Tehran's allies that includes Hezbollah. As early as 2021 a UN panel of experts reported growing evidence of shipments of weapons and components to the Houthis by individuals or entities in Iran, in violation of Security Council resolutions (Fox News, quoting the report). The report speaks of actors in Iran, not directly of the Iranian government.

Alliance, however, does not mean dependence. The Houthis have their own social base, history and doctrine, born in Yemen decades before Iranian support. In 2026 they presented the resumption of the war with Saudi Arabia as a continuation of the Yemeni war, not as a front of the Iran war (AP, via Al-Ahram).

What they demand

Their demands have changed over time. During the 2022 truce and the talks with Riyadh they asked above all for the payment of public-sector salaries in the areas they control, the opening of the ports and of Sanaa airport, and oil and gas revenues (AFP, via Naharnet). Much of this went into the commitments announced by the UN envoy at the end of 2023 for a peace "roadmap", which then stalled (UN News). According to the International Crisis Group, in 2026 the discourse shifted to Yemen's sovereignty over airspace, ports and territorial waters (AP, via Al-Ahram). On 19 August 2026 they told Saudi Arabia that the only way out was to lift the blockade, implement the measures already agreed, pay salaries, withdraw foreign forces and leave natural resources to Yemenis (Shafaq News).

Documented violations

The Houthis are a party to a conflict in which all actors have violated international law, and this site documents it for all of them. As far as the Houthis are concerned, the documented violations include:

the arbitrary detention of dozens of United Nations staff since 2024 (we covered it here);
the recruitment of children as fighters (here);
the siege of the city of Taiz, which began in 2016 (AFP, via Naharnet);
since 2023, attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis present as solidarity with Gaza;
in 2026, missile and drone attacks on Saudi civilian airports.

In the same conflict the Houthis and the population of the areas they control are also targets of violations by others, from the Saudi coalition's air strikes to the American ones of 2025. We cover them in the dedicated pieces.

What they are called

No label is neutral. "Rebels" stresses that they rose up against a recognised government; "de facto authority" describes the real control they exercise over millions of people; "terrorists" echoes the designations of some governments. This site normally uses "Houthis" and, when speaking of their administration, "Houthi de facto authorities".

US designations have changed with administrations. In January 2021 the first Trump administration designated them a foreign terrorist organisation; a month later the Biden administration revoked the designation, fearing it would hinder humanitarian aid. In February 2024 the same Biden administration designated them again, but in a narrower category, after the attacks in the Red Sea (Baker McKenzie). On 4 March 2025 the State Department designated them a foreign terrorist organisation again (State Department, via GlobalSecurity).

For the UN Security Council, resolution 2216 of 2015 demands that the Houthis withdraw from the areas they seized and imposes an arms embargo on them (UN).

Change log

11 October 2026: first version.

Sources: Sana'a Center · Fox News, quoting the report · AP, via Al-Ahram · AFP, via Naharnet · UN News · Shafaq News · Baker McKenzie · State Department, via GlobalSecurity · UN

Houthis Yemen Iran

← All news and manifestos