CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have so far remained on the sidelines as the Iran war widens across the Middle East, raising questions about why — and when the battle-hardened group might join the fight.

Iran has retaliated against the United States and Israel with missiles and drones, targeting American military bases and other locations in Gulf Arab countries, disrupting trade routes, choking fuel supplies and threatening regional air traffic.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested on Thursday in his first written statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the war’s opening salvo, that Iran may open up new fronts in the conflict — a sign, analysts say, the Houthis may get involved soon.

Until now, the Houthis have been reluctant to fight, fearing assassinations of their leaders, internal divisions in Yemen and uncertainties over weapons supplies, the experts said.

But that may change as Iran seeks to increase pressure on global oil supply routes through potential attacks by the Houthis, who have had previous success targeting oil facilities in the region, the analysts said.

Iran has asserted its influence across the Middle East through its proxy forces in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen’s Houthis.

Some of its closest allies have already joined the conflict, with Hezbollah resuming rocket and drone attacks on Israel within two days of the attack on Iran — just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended in a November 2024 ceasefire. Militias linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have claimed drone strikes on US bases in Erbil.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have only held protests and issued declarations condemning the Iran war, in contrast to the waves of missile and drone attacks they launched on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

Amid that war, the Houthis launched over 130 ballistic missiles and dozens of explosive-laden drones at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others. In response, Israel attacked the Houthis in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away, 19 times via the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy.

Houthis’ quiet may be strategic wait, coordinated with Iran

Armed by Iran, the Houthis seized most of Yemen’s north and its capital, Sanaa, in 2014, pushing the country’s internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government entered the........

© The Times of Israel