Yemen's Houthi rebels, who launched a wave of attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday, have become an increasingly disruptive force in the Middle East in recent years, striking Israel, Saudi Arabia, and a global shipping route in solidarity with Iran and allied armed groups.

They have been engaged in hostilities with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014, when the rebels descended from their mountainous stronghold and overran much of the country’s northern and central regions.

Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict the following year in support of the government.

A ceasefire largely brought the hostilities to a standstill in 2022.

The Houthis subsequently directed their firepower at Israel and commercial shipping routes traversing the Red Sea, following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which ignited the conflict in Gaza.

Those assaults eventually waned after the United States launched a series of airstrikes against the Houthis in early 2025.

The Houthis stayed out of the conflict during its initial, intense phase, but by July they had resumed strikes on Saudi Arabia and announced a blockade against the oil giant.

While the Houthis have their own motives for opposing the Saudis, their actions also align with Iran's interests by increasing pressure on a US-allied oil producer, as Tehran seeks to gain leverage over Washington.

The Houthis are followers of Yemen's minority Shiite Zaydi sect, a branch of Islam that held power in the country for a thousand years until 1962.

Their official slogan is "God is greatest; death to America; death to Israel; a curse on the Jews; victory for Islam."

They waged a protracted struggle against Yemen’s central government for years prior to launching the 2014 offensive, which rapidly deteriorated into a deadlock.

The conflict has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and, at various junctures, brought Yemen to the verge of famine.

Even before hostilities erupted, it ranked as the most impoverished nation in the Arab world.

The Saudi-led blockade has largely severed Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen—including the capital, Sanaa—from the outside world, compounding the suffering there.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have encountered mounting resentment over their ongoing detention of United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers.

The 2022 ceasefire largely held until July of this year, when the Houthis resumed their attacks on Saudi Arabia in response to an airstrike on Sanaa's international airport, which the rebels claimed had prevented a flight from Iran from landing.

The Houthis further announced a blockade on Saudi shipping, directly threatening a major oil exporter at a time of high prices caused by Iran's disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

They now endanger another vital trade route through the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea, which normally carries 12% of global trade.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to retaliate against such assaults, yet appears reluctant to reignite a full-scale conflict.

The Houthis proudly belong to Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance, a coalition of armed groups opposed to Israel that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and Tehran-backed militias in Iraq.

Iran denies arming the Houthis — a move that would contravene a U.N. embargo — yet Iranian weaponry has on multiple occasions been intercepted aboard vessels en route to Yemen.

The Houthis’ prominence grew following the outbreak of the Gaza war, when they commenced missile and drone strikes against Israel and targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis framed these attacks as an embargo on Israel, yet the majority of the ships targeted had no discernible connection to Israel or the Gaza conflict.

Between November 2023 and December 2024, the Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors.

Their campaign drastically curtailed the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, a route that typically facilitates the passage of $1 trillion worth of goods annually.

The United States and Israel ultimately retaliated with successive waves of airstrikes in 2025, whereupon the attacks largely subsided.

The Houthis have renewed their assaults on Yemeni government forces, inflicting heavy casualties among both troops and civilians.

In addition, they have targeted several Saudi oil tankers, thereby disrupting maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

Since the Iran war began, the Bab el-Mandeb has served as a pressure valve, with Saudi Arabia relying on pipelines across the Arabian Peninsula to reach the Red Sea and avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's effective closure of the strait has disrupted the global economy, pushing up fuel and commodity prices well beyond the Middle East.

The Houthis assert that their strikes on Saudi tankers are intended to lift the Saudi-led blockade, yet they equally advance Iran's interests by establishing a fresh front in a regional conflict that appears interminable.