Everyone remembers the SignalGate scandal in March 2025, when journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic was accidentally added to a Signal group chat that included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top government officials.
Just as he would later that year with the Iranian nuclear program, President Donald Trump claimed that he had “decimated” the Houthis, the Iran-backed militia who were the targets of the attack that was being planned in that Signal chat.
But this year, the Houthis have re-emerged, seemingly more powerful than ever, even capturing a key port on the Red Sea, taking more territory, and affecting worldwide energy markets.
Now, The Atlantic has published an analysis titled “The Houthis Have a Rich Sense of Irony,” examining how the Houthis rose from that low point last year to reclaim their power and influence.
The magazine, whose own editor had broken the story of the security breach, noted that the government officials had celebrated on the Signal chat when the strike hit, noting that then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had posted emojis of “the fist bump, the American flag, and fire,” while Steve Witkoff, now the Middle East peace envoy, posted a flexed bicep emoji.
Although Trump wasn’t in the group chat, he bragged about the mission’s success, including at rallies.
When a deal was agreed to in which the U.S. agreed to stop strikes, and the Houthis agreed to stop attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, Trump called it a capitulation.
A Reversal of Fortune
However, more than a year later, the Houthis have made a remarkable comeback, one that author Marie-Rose Sheinerman joked is likely being celebrated in Houthi group chats, if they use such technology.
The Houthis, she writes, have taken time to “restock, reload, and return to the fight,” while gaining an impressive amount of territory inside Yemen.
But beyond that, the Houthis have succeeded in hurting their longtime enemies in Saudi Arabia, imposing a maritime blockade, taking control of the Bab al-Manda Strait, and shooting a ballistic missile at Riyadh.
The Houthis have also introduced another complication to global oil markets, on the opposite side of the Middle East from the Strait of Hormuz.
The Atlantic author sees the Houthis’ success as part of a pattern that she calls “Trump’s Ironclad Law of Military Achievement.” When Trump claims a decisive military victory, it’s “inversely proportional” to the actual level of success.
We’ve seen this with both the “decimation” of the Houthis and the “obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear program, as well as various claims of imminent victory throughout this year’s Iran war.
And because the Houthis are backed by Iran and are at war with the U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, that complicates the possibility of a peace agreement that could end the U.S. entanglement in Iran.
In addition, the U.S. will face a choice of whether to stand by its allies, the Saudis, even if it means expanding the war regionally at a time when the White House is clearly looking for a way to wrap up the conflict.
As of now, the U.S. has apparently chosen not to launch another round of strikes against the Houthis.
Becoming More Self-Sufficient
While the Houthis have traditionally been a proxy for Iran, the Atlantic said they have become more self-reliant of late, with Bloomberg News reporting that the Houthis have been relying on goods from China to “sustain” their lower-budget war machine.
Sources from the internationally recognized Yemen government, which fights the Houthis for control of territory, told Bloomberg that they seized cargo from a shipment from China that could be used to make weapons, and that such shipments have made it easier for the Houthis to manufacture their own weapons inside Yemen.
Also, the Houthis are even using Claude, Anthropic’s AI tool, to carry out what The Atlantic called unauthorized “weapons development programs,” as the Washington Post first reported last month.
This isn’t to say Iran is no longer helping them, as efforts by the U.S. to “drive a wedge” between the group and their patron have not succeeded. But both reports said the Houthis have grown more resourceful over time.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
