Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have showcased their growing military capabilities, repeatedly striking the airport in Saudi Arabia's capital and seizing territory near a key shipping chokepoint Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have put their growing military capabilities on display in recent weeks, repeatedly striking Saudi Arabia's main international airport hundreds of miles (kilometers) away and seizing territory inside Yemen near a key shipping chokepoint. At various times over the last decade, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Britain and Israel have carried out punishing air raids on the rebels — only to see them grow even stronger. The Saudis have struggled to counter the latest attacks, even with far superior U.S.-supplied arms.
A senior Saudi diplomat told reporters this week that Iran was encouraging the escalation and that over the summer the Houthis had spurned an offer to negotiate. The Houthis operate in a large and mountainous territory where they can disperse fighters and military infrastructure while threatening major oil facilities and key trade routes. Iran and its allies in Lebanon and Iraq provide expertise, training and sophisticated weapons, according to U.N. and other experts.
A recent report found that the Houthis have tried to source parts from Chinese suppliers that are used to make precision-guided ballistic missiles with a range of roughly 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers). The Houthis already have a wide array of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones — many resembling Iranian models — that can reach all the Gulf states as well as Israel. They have also used sophisticated anti-ship missiles and naval drones to strike vessels in the Red Sea, threatening a critical trade route.
Iran denies arming the Houthis, which would violate a U.N. embargo. China has not directly responded to the latest report but says it has a “prudent and responsible” approach to military exports. Smuggled Iranian weapons and parts have been seized from numerous Yemen-bound shipments, and a report by U.N. experts in 2024 documented extensive military ties between the Houthis, Iran and its other allies.
That report estimated that the Houthis had recruited up to 350,000 fighters by 2024, up from just 30,000 in 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war against the Houthis and imposed a naval blockade. The Houthis can use relatively inexpensive drones and missiles to target oil and other infrastructure just across the border in Saudi Arabia, as well as tankers off the coast. And while Iran is believed to supply cutting-edge components like guidance systems, the Houthis can manufacture much of their weaponry domestically, and at a much lower cost than the state-of-the-art interceptors used by the Saudis.
There are suggestions they may even be using artificial intelligence to try to build better missiles. Saudi Arabia boasts an array of U.S.-supplied weapons, including sophisticated aircraft as well as advanced missile defenses used against Iran at the height of the war last spring. But with supplies of high-end interceptors under pressure, it's unclear how long it can ward off attacks — not only from the Houthis, but from Iran-backed militias in Iraq blamed for an attack that briefly shut down an east-west pipeline crucial for oil exports.
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