Iran benefits <\/strong><\/p>\nBut the Houthis’ pursuit of their own objectives does not mean Tehran is a bystander.<\/p>\n
Fatima Al-Asrar, a Yemen and Iran specialist, sees the renewed Houthi pressure as increasingly intertwined with Iran’s broader strategy against the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, they [Iran] see it as an extension to them. They’re no longer hiding it,\u201d Al-Asrar told Iran International, pointing to Iranian rhetoric linking pressure around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.<\/p>\n
She said Tehran is closely watching growing US fatigue with the Iran war and sees the approaching midterm elections as an opportunity to increase pressure on Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re very transparent, very calculating, and they’re using the Houthis on that front in order to press their advantage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
New reporting from Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat raises the possibility of a more direct Iranian operational role.<\/p>\n
Citing Yemeni security sources, the newspaper reported on Tuesday that IRGC officers are overseeing aspects of the Houthi escalation and that an Iranian official, Ali Mohammad Rezaei, is supervising an operations room managing military and security affairs in Houthi-controlled territory. Iranian officers have also helped establish additional missile and drone launch positions, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Iran International has not independently verified the claims.<\/p>\n
What will this lead to?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn July of this year, US President Donald Trump has warned Washington would hold Tehran responsible for renewed Houthi attacks, describing the group as an Iranian \u201cSurrogate and\/or Proxy\u201d and threatening military punishment against both.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fe8db063dc385841c81dcc38af04fe28d8170615-725x593.png\")
<\/p>\n
But retired Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe, who served for 27 years and commanded four warships, told Iran International that he doubts Trump will want to launch another major military campaign against the Houthis.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe definitely doesn’t want to be embroiled on a second tangent here,\u201d Sharpe told Iran International.<\/p>\n
Bab el-Mandeb also does not carry the same strategic weight as the Strait of Hormuz, Sharpe said, because ships have alternative routes, albeit at considerably greater cost and distance.<\/p>\n
Yet Iran can still benefit.<\/p>\n
Greater Houthi disruption could complicate shipping and potentially force the United States and its partners to devote resources to another strategic waterway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they’ll be pleased,\u201d Sharpe said of Tehran. \u201cIf it does draw away resources, US resources from the Gulf of Oman, then that’s in Iran’s favor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Analysts disagree over how directly Tehran is involved and what is driving the Houthis back into action after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1147146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5311],"tags":[774,192116,192113,192111,14535,192114,83349,192112,192110,192115,839,49,978,24535,659],"class_list":["post-1147145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-iran","tag-iran-and-china","tag-iran-covid","tag-iran-economy","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-media-iran-and-the-united-states","tag-iran-news","tag-iran-nuclear","tag-iran-politics","tag-iran-us","tag-middle-east","tag-united-states","tag-us","tag-us-sanctions","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117091049417909292","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1147145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1147146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1147145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1147145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1147145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/efd9dbe516a5ee6be7329e1e5553d371d763965f-2368x1308.png\"\/)
One flight, two chokepoints: why Iran wants an air bridge to Yemen<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"Mecca](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/54f99ff60769d476cf501d37d79b51e1f0d8ef47-2560x1772.jpg\"\/)