The West should act decisively to target the Tehran-backed Houthi leadership in Yemen while Iran is politically weakened, according to Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, the vice president of Yemen’s UN-backed government in Aden.
Zoubaidi emphasized that Iran’s setbacks in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza have left it “massively weakened.” Speaking to The Guardian on Tuesday, he said, “They have one remaining domain and that is Yemen. Now is the time to counter the Houthis and push them back into their position.”
He advocated for a coordinated strategy combining Yemeni ground forces with Western air strikes. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zoubaidi urged the United States to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization and praised US President Donald Trump for demonstrating “decisive leadership.”
Zoubaidi asserted, “Iran will not give up on the Houthis, but on the contrary double down on its support for the Houthis as the last remaining component of its chain of proxy forces. So this is the right time for us also to double time and push them to the maximum.”
Zoubaidi also pledged the Aden government’s willingness to provide intelligence to parties targeting Houthi positions. “We are willing to work with everyone on this,” he said, hinting at possible cooperation with Israel.
He criticized the current approach of US and UK air strikes, saying they had failed to effectively target key Houthi leadership or infrastructure. “It’s not joined-up, or comprehensive. It’s just airstrikes. Joined-up means also a military operation on the ground,” he explained.
Zoubaidi noted that targeting Houthi leadership alone would not suffice due to the group’s distinct social structure compared to Hezbollah and Hamas. He criticized the Biden administration for “a lack of assertiveness,” particularly for lifting the Houthis’ foreign terrorist designation in favor of a less severe classification.
“The decision had given the Houthis space in which to work and to do what they have done,” he stated.
The Houthi rebels have upped their attacks in the region since October of 2023, having launched drones towards Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region in support for Gazans.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.
The coalition has repeatedly targeted Houthi facilities and weapons systems in Yemen, but the Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes and have vowed to continue their attacks.
Earlier this week, the Houthis said that they would limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to Israel-linked vessels only during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Previously, they had vowed to continue to attack Israel if the ceasefire with Hamas breaks down.