The Facts
- Origins: The war in Yemen is often seen as a proxy conflict involving the Iran-backed Houthis and Sunni factions supported by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and their Western allies. Its roots trace back to the early 20th century when Yemen was divided between North and South. Before unification in 1990, North Yemen was ruled by a Zaydi Imam — with Zaydism being a branch of Shia Islam — while the South was under British control. In the 1960s, North Yemen fell into civil war between Egyptian-backed republicans and the Saudi and British-backed Imam, which led to it becoming a republic. The South gained independence shortly after, aligning with the Soviet sphere of influence.
- The Houthis: After Yemen's unification in 1990 and another civil war, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Zaydi, took control, having been the north's president since 1978. In the late 1990s, Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi formed a network of Zaydi activists to counter Saudi influence, which evolved into Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis. Initially supported by Saleh, the movement grew critical of his government and gained popularity among northern Zaydis, sparking the First Houthi War in 2004. Saleh was ousted during the Arab Spring in 2011 and succeeded by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in 2012, setting the stage for the current conflict.
- Fighting: A civil war has raged in Yemen since 2014 after the Houthis captured the capital Sana'a with the help of Saleh. Saudi Arabia directly intervened the following year to stop the Houthis from taking the whole country. Both the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Hadi side claim to be Yemen's official government. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) backed by the UAE also controls significant territory, while Sunni militant groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda have influence in some regions. In recent years, heavy fighting in Yemen has largely subsided, though the country is still divided.
Sources Split
LEFT
CENTER
RIGHT
+2
+4
+2
ESTAB
CRIT
CENTER
PRO
ESTAB
The Spin
Anti-Iran narrative
The Houthis are an Iran-backed terrorist group that violently overthrew Yemen's internationally recognized government in 2014 and is now working to undermine global commerce via its campaign of terror in the Red Sea. The Houthis don't represent Yemen's legitimate government, and must be defeated. Indeed, though the United States is open to ending its campaign if the terrorist attacks stop, the Houthis must understand that they are at the mercy of the U.S. military until then.
Pro-Iran narrative
After years of supporting Saudi Arabia and the UAE's brutal war on Yemen, the United States is now bombing the country directly. Though the conflict was seemingly coming to an end, Israel's genocide in Gaza forced the Yemeni people to stand up to this U.S.-backed aggression, with the Houthis' resistance being just as legitimate as the resistance in Ukraine. Yemen wants these wars to end and will stop attacking Israel and the Red Sea when there is a cease-fire in Gaza like it has in the past.
Establishment-critical narrative
It should be obvious that bombing the Houthis will not work. Besides the fact that U.S. strikes under Biden failed, the Houthis have been fighting for over a decade and have managed to carve out a statelet all the while being bombed by Saudi Arabia since 2015. Indeed, this bombing campaign will only make the Houthis more popular, and the only way to end the crisis in the Red Sea is via diplomacy and pressuring Israel to end its unnecessary war in Gaza.
Public Figures
Go Deeper
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 7.18.0