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.
