How is the Houthi rebel group in Yemen reacting to the attack by the US and Israel on Iran? Although the Houthis have made angry statements, the staunch allies of Iran seem to be holding back — at least for now.

The Houthis, whose official name is Ansar Allah, have controlled large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since 2014. Their advance in Yemen triggered the intervention of a Saudi-led military coalition in 2015. According to the UN, the ensuing conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition claimed more than 150,000 lives. A ceasefire was reached in 2022 but Yemen remains divided.

During fighting in Gaza after late 2023, the Houthi group threatenedmerchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's most important maritime routes. The Houthis also tried to fire rockets at Israel. The group stated that the attacks were intended to demonstrate solidarity with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas and to put pressure on Israel and its allies. The US, UK and Israel responded with airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Why haven't the Houthis acted?

Now observers are asking whether the Houthi group might act again in support of Iran.

"The counterattacks the Iranian regime is now launching show that this is truly a fight for its own survival," says Thomas Volk, head of the Middle East and North Africa division at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

This is why, he argues, Iran will be trying to activate its network of regional proxies. Hezbollah in Lebanon has already attacked Israel and in Iraq, Iran-allied militias are targeting US bases and US allies.

"If the regime realizes that this is its last stand, it will mobilize all resources and will try to involve all partners in this fight," Volk told DW. And this includes the Houthis.

But it is doubtful the Houthis will respond, says Abdulghani al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies.

"The Houthis will have no role to play in this confrontation because their added value was to cause trouble on behalf of Iran, while giving Iran a margin of deniability," he explains. "Now that Iran is actually attacking the whole region, basically, there isn't much added value in Houthi involvement."

The Houthis might undertake something symbolic but they're unlikely to do anything that has a real impact, al-Iryani explains, because at the moment, the group is focused on consolidating its position in Yemen.

Behind the scenes, there have been attempts by the Houthis to bring Saudi Arabia back to the negotiating table to talk about Yemen's future. "They are showing indications that they want to shift from being confrontational to being collaborative and stopping the violence in Yemen," he notes.

But, al-Iryani adds, if Israel were to attack the Houthis then they might have no choice but to join the fighting.

Although many Houthi military installations were destroyed by US attacks last year, they likely still have the capacity to undertake drone or missile attacks, Volk says.

Iran's future

Should the current Iranian regime be weakened by the US and Israel, then this would also have consequences for the Houthis, Volk continues.

"If it were possible to either eliminate this regime or weaken it so significantly that it no longer poses a threat, then in the medium term this would also mean the weakening or elimination of the proxies — and also the Houthis," he told DW.

The Houthis get money, arms and ideological backing from Iran and if they were to lose that, then potentially the international community could "take even more decisive action against the Houthis," Volk suggests.

Meanwhile al-Iryani cautions against discounting Iran altogether. Even weakened, Tehran will still play a role in the region after this war, he points out, although in the future its support for proxies like the Houthis would be more limited.

"The Houthis will not get much support from Iran in the future, which will force them to negotiate a fair and balanced peace agreement in Yemen," al-Iryani suggests.

One possible scenario is that the Houthis remain ideologically rigid but make pragmatic political concessions to secure power in Yemen, he told DW.

This war has marginalized moderates in the Houthi organization and militant leaders currently dominate. But such pragmatism would ensure their survival, the researcher says.

Volk believes that destabilizing non-state actors like the Houthis might be weakened throughout the entire region by this war, so much so that they "become controllable, at least in the medium term."

With reporting assistance from Jennifer Holleis.

This story was originally published in German.

A photo in this article was removed on March 12, 2026, after the providing agency withdrew several photos over sourcing and possible manipulation.