To Defeat the Houthis, Starve Their Military Resupply

The Biden administration is playing defense. The Iranian government is open about its so-called “Axis of Resistance,” a patchwork of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-sponsored proxy groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and various Iraqi militias, all of which work under loose Iranian direction to advance the Islamic Republic’s goals of exporting revolution, eradicating Israel, and overthrowing moderate Arab states.

Weakness Invites Aggression

During separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in town to address a Joint Session of Congress, both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pressured the Israeli leader to wind down the war with Hamas, even if it meant falling short of Israeli goals to release Hamas hostages, including American ones. After the July 31, 2024, assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, Secretary of State Antony Blinken scrambled to distance the United States from the presumptive Israeli operation, and administration officials whispered their frustration that the attack undermined their diplomacy.

The same applies to Hezbollah. In what should be a major scandal, a Hezbollah official claimed on BBC Arabic that Biden administration envoy Amos Hochstein, the point man for Hezbollah, leaked advance notice of Israeli strikes to the terror group. Put another way, Team Biden has another Rob Malley problem. Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues its war against Israel, shooting rockets, missiles, and drones on a daily basis against northern Israeli towns and infrastructure. The July 29 attack on Magdal Shams was unique only in that Hezbollah got lucky from its point of view and killed a dozen children.

The weakness with which the Biden administration approaches Hamas and Hezbollah now extends to the Houthis, even as the Iranian-backed proxy’s attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea continue. A week ago, as Biden addressed the nation to announce the end of his campaign, he stated, “I’m the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.” His comments came just ten days after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to its homeport Norfolk after what the U.S. Navy called “a historic nine-month combat deployment” in which the carrier strike group “brought the fight to the Houthis in their front yard.” By suggesting the war was over, Biden bolstered Houthi confidence and signaled to traditional allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that the United States had once again abandoned them. The White House statement suggesting an end to meaningful anti-Houthi operations also signaled the Revolutionary Guards that its supply of the Houthis was increasingly low risk but could pay huge dividends.

How the Houthis Get Their Arms: Three Possible Vectors

The Houthis likely receive weaponry in three ways. First is by sea, as Iran resupplies the Houthis through the port of Hudaydah. This is why Iranian diplomats both activate their proxy advocacy groups to warn of imminent humanitarian disaster if anti-Houthi forces seize the capital and disrupt supposed aid supplies and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps– Navy mines ships in the Gulf of Oman to signal to the United Arab Emirates a willingness to outflank them should they endanger Iran’s Houthi supply.

The second is overland via Oman itself. While Muscat hosts Houthi officials under the guise of enabling diplomacy much as Qatar does with Hamas, Houthi officials use their presence allegedly to smuggle weaponry through the desert and across Yemen’s sparsely populated al-Mahrah province.

The third way the Houthis might supply themselves is by air. The Houthis seized Sanaa International Airport when they took Yemen’s capital a decade ago. For years, little happened at the airport. Shortly after Biden’s speech, a Yemenia air flights, ostensibly flying passengers from Sanaa to the Jordanian capital Amman, continued to the Hezbollah-controlled Rafic International Airport in Beirut where it took on cargo that was likely military in nature.

What Needs to Happen Next

The “Axis of Evil” is like a cancer. Ignored, it will grow. It is time to starve methodically the Houthis of their supplies. At the height of its anti-Houthi mission, the Biden administration essentially played whack-a-mole, substituting virtue signaling for strategy. The U.S. Navy did not, for example, intercept or sink (or sink publicly) Iran’s intelligence-gathering ship that provided targeting information for the Houthis; the ship retreated only after Israel threatened it.

Washington might also increase diplomatic pressure on Muscat. It is one thing to broker talks between parties that sincerely want peace; it is quite another to provide cover and legitimacy for a group threatening international shipping. The Houthis are wearing out their welcome in Oman, a sultanate that should have no desire to follow Qatar down the reputational rabbit hole.

Finally, it is time to stop “Houthi and Hezbollah Air.” The international community must stop serving Rafic Hariri International Airport. Alternatives exist in Lebanon that Hezbollah has yet to compromise. Lebanese may complain, but their government’s policy embracing permissiveness to terror has consequence. If the Houthis are using Sanaa Airport to smuggle weaponry, then the United States should render its runways unsuitable for further use. Again, Yemenis may lament they can no longer escape to Cairo, Amman, or Mumbai but Houthi abuse of civilian infrastructure carries a cost.

The Middle East is on the brink of war because Western leaders for decades allowed first Hezbollah and then Hamas to fester. The Houthis are only the most recent manifestation of a well-worn Iranian strategy. Talking to terrorists legitimizes them. Offering concessions in exchange for quiet rewards from their sponsors. It is time for a fundamentally new approach, one that stop Houthi resupply, not only in the Red Sea, but in Oman and Lebanon as well.

About the Author: Dr. Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin is director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.