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Iran’s Hard-Liners Use Houthi Militants to Counter U.S. Pressure, Analysts Say
Confirmed
In Short: Fox News reports that Iran is leveraging Houthi militants to regain leverage in the region, following U.S. successes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Fox News Digital reports that Saudi Arabia is urging Washington to take direct military action against Iran-backed Houthis, following the group's seizure of key positions along Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait. The move reflects Tehran’s effort to recover leverage as pressure around Hormuz changes, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Former U.S. special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking told Fox News Digital that the Houthis have spent the years since the 2022 U.N.-brokered truce rebuilding their military strength and are now exploiting the broader Iran conflict to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia. 'They’ve seized this opportunity, bringing these various lines of effort together, to put a great deal of pressure on the Yemen government and the Saudis specifically,' Lenderking said.
The dramatic strengthening of Houthi's positioning along the coastline of Yemen is in one of the world's most important shipping chokepoints, a narrow passage that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. This has been used as a bypass as the Iran war continues to severely disrupt shipping, especially of oil, through the Strait of Hormuz. Thiessen warns of the ongoing threat from a nuclear-armed Iran and analyzes President Trump's past decisions on airstrikes.
The convergence raises the prospect of simultaneous pressure on two of the world’s most consequential maritime arteries: Iran disrupting traffic through Hormuz while its Houthi allies strengthen their position around Bab al-Mandab. Analysts say that this move by Iran is aimed at countering the successes achieved by the U.S. in pushing back on Iran’s maritime threat in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.
What's confirmed
- Fox News Digital reports that Saudi Arabia is urging Washington to take direct military action against Iran-backed Houthis, following the group's seizure of key positions along Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait. The move reflects Tehran’s effort to recover leverage as pressure around Hormuz changes, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
- Former U.S. special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking told Fox News Digital that the Houthis have spent the years since the 2022 U.N.-brokered truce rebuilding their military strength and are now exploiting the broader Iran conflict to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia. 'They’ve seized this opportunity, bringing these various lines of effort together, to put a great deal of pressure on the Yemen government and the Saudis specifically,' Lenderking said.
- The dramatic strengthening of Houthi's positioning along the coastline of Yemen is in one of the world's most important shipping chokepoints, a narrow passage that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. This has been used as a bypass as the Iran war continues to severely disrupt shipping, especially of oil, through the Strait of Hormuz. Thiessen warns of the ongoing threat from a nuclear-armed Iran and analyzes President Trump's past decisions on airstrikes.
- The convergence raises the prospect of simultaneous pressure on two of the world’s most consequential maritime arteries: Iran disrupting traffic through Hormuz while its Houthi allies strengthen their position around Bab al-Mandab. Analysts say that this move by Iran is aimed at countering the successes achieved by the U.S. in pushing back on Iran’s maritime threat in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.
What's still developing
- Members of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces fire a tank during what they say to be clashes with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a location given as near Al-Hazm, Yemen, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released September 9, 2026. (Media Centre Of The Yemeni Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters) Lenderking said the Houthis are now taking advantage of the wider conflict with Iran to increase their leverage over Riyadh.
- People familiar with the talks told the Kyiv Independent that the envoys brought revised peace proposals, but no breakthrough was achieved as Putin appeared intent on escalating Russia's war.
- "Ukraine right now does not want to do that," U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said.
- After refusing even a temporary ceasefire or a leader-level meeting in a noncombatant country, Lavrov went on to emphasize the level of "goodwill" Moscow was displaying in the peace process.