The **Houthis**, officially called **Ansar Allah**, are a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization originating in Yemen during the 1990s. Initially emerging as a revivalist movement opposing the Yemeni government under President Ali Abdullah Saleh, they accused his regime of corruption and foreign alliance with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The group’s founding leader, Hussein al-Houthi, was killed in 2004, which triggered a prolonged insurgency under the leadership of his brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi[1]. The Houthis have played a central role in Yemen’s ongoing civil war, seizing the capital Sanaa in 2014 and effectively controlling large areas of northwest Yemen. Their rise was facilitated by a power vacuum after President Saleh stepped down in 2011. Despite UN-brokered peace efforts, they rejected new constitutional proposals and resisted the internationally recognized government led by Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, leading to a Saudi-led coalition intervention in 2015 aimed at restoring Hadi’s government[3]. Militarily, the Houthis have developed advanced capabilities, including ballistic and cruise missiles, drones (UAS), naval mines, and unmanned sea vessels. Their arsenal, reportedly supplied and smuggled by Iran since 2015, has been used to target regional adversaries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Western naval vessels, especially in the strategically critical Red Sea shipping lanes[2]. Their tactics include both conventional and asymmetric warfare. Internationally, the Houthis are designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government since January 2025, following earlier designations and revocations between 2021 and 2024. The U.S. has targeted their financial networks tied to petroleum smuggling and money laundering, which generate hundreds of millions annually, funding their military and political activities[4][6]. U.S. and allied forces have conducted strikes to curb their maritime attacks on commercial shipping, unders