The Houthi rebels have long been backed by Iran and reviled by Saudi Arabia. A Shia group from the mountains of northern Yemen, they have controlled the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast since 2014.
Key background: The Saudis launched a large-scale offensive against the militant group in 2015, and the ensuing seven-year conflict provoked one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The Houthis survived, with help from Iran and other pro-Iranian groups such as Hezbollah, carrying out missile and drone strikes against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which supported the UN-recognized government the Houthis had driven from Sanaa.
In 2023, the…