Farea Al-Muslimi

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Yemenis brandish rifles during a demonstration called for by the rebel Houthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen on 15 March were the heaviest since joint US/UK air operations began in January 2024. They were also the first under the new administration of President Donald Trump. Sending a clear message to Tehran, the president said afterwards that ‘every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon…as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran’.

The attacks, and Trump’s explicit association of the Houthis with Iran, were not surprising. One of the most important consequences of the wars that followed the 7 October 2023 attacks has been the heightened importance of the Houthis within the Iran-led Axis of Resistance.…  Seguir leyendo »

Members of Houthi-affiliated security forces deploy during a ceremony celebrating prisoner exchanges with government forces in Sana'a on 30 April 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP).

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At the end of May 2024 the armed Houthi group in Yemen (also known as Ansar Allah) conducted a new round of raids across the capital Sana’a, forcibly disappearing dozens of Yemenis including activists, researchers, INGO workers and diplomatic staff. Following the arrests, the Houthis publicly denounced targets inside and outside the country on television. I was among those targeted, accused of being part of a ‘foreigner spying network and implementing foreign agendas in the country’, a charge I reject entirely.

The Houthis have broadcast several statements by detainees who may well have been tortured in which they ‘confess’ they are part of a larger Israeli-American spying network in Yemen.…  Seguir leyendo »

Houthi followers chant slogans as they ride a vehicle in Sana'a, Yemen on 18 January 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, , ,

The US redesignation of the Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) represents continuing inconsistency in its policy towards Yemen – or rather the complete absence of a policy.

During its first weeks in office the Biden administration chose to revoke Trump’s decision to add the Houthis to a similar list. Now the US has rebranded them with the terrorist designation, repeating the same old ignorant mistakes, with apparently no ability to learn from even recent history.

The main difference between Trump’s designation and Biden’s is that the restrictions of the new SDGT categorization can be more easily undone in the event of a de-escalation in hostilities.…  Seguir leyendo »

A protest in Sanaa, Yemen on January 11, 2024, against the UN Security Council resolution demanding that Houthis cease all attacks on ships in the Red Sea. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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US and UK air strikes on Yemen on 11 and 12 January were characterized by the Biden administration as ‘a clear message’ that the US will not ‘ allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation’ in the Red Sea. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the strikes as ‘ limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence’.

The air strikes come after the Houthis ignored calls to end their assaults, including a private formal letter delivered to the group leadership by the UK on behalf of the international community (according to various senior Houthi leaders).

The US/ UK strikes are presumably intended as the only possible bad choice to pressure the Houthis to end their hostile activity.…  Seguir leyendo »

Demonstrations in central Tunis against Tunisia's president President Kais Saied, who opponents claim is aiming to install a new dictatorship in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images.

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The carpet rolled out to  Bashar al-Assad by the Arab League in Jeddah this week opens a grim new chapter in a darkening world. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the Assad regime’s horrific war crimes, yet here he is  being welcomed with open arms.

More than a decade after the  Arab Spring, the promise of bringing new and more accountable political forces into power to sweep away long-serving and corrupt despots  appears lost. Authoritarian regimes across the region have  reasserted their control and sent a clear message: no change will be brooked and the existing political orders will endure come what may.…  Seguir leyendo »

Anti-Saudi regime graffiti painted on the wall of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images.

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Some diplomats at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are asking if Oman, the country which has facilitated the ‘backdoor channel’ between the Houthis in Sana’a and the rest of the world since 2015, has been abusing its leverage by using it to pursue its own interests towards the Saudis and the international community.

This question of leverage over the Houthis comes up in every round of negotiations, most recently as a discussion about pushing back against their diversion of humanitarian aid. But in reality, the current situation is a consequence of a poor diplomatic decision to isolate the Houthis and abandon Sana’a by international diplomats in early 2015.…  Seguir leyendo »

Leaders of the GCC countries pose for a photo during the 41st summit of Gulf Cooperation Council in AlUla, Saudi Arabia on 5 January 2021. Photo by Royal Council of Saudi Arabia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

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US-GCC relations

Sanam Vakil

The departure of the Trump administration will be felt across the GCC as the incoming Biden administration is expected to change US policy on Iran, renew conflict management efforts in Yemen and prioritize human rights concerns. President Trump, whose first foreign trip in office was to Riyadh, was well received in the Gulf for his maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, support for Saudi Arabia’s position in the Yemen war and defence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Trump administration’s role in facilitating the normalization of ties between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel will also be warmly remembered by Gulf states.…  Seguir leyendo »