The Houthis Are Ready to Play Their Part in a Total Iran-Israel War

NEWSWEEK-April30th2024

Asenior official of the powerful Yemeni movement already engaged in direct confrontation with Israel and United States forces has revealed to Newsweek that the group is committed to coming to the aid of its Iran-aligned alliance in the event that the ongoing conflicts surrounding Gaza spiral into a major regional war.

“As for our defense of ourselves, our region, and those with whom we have alliances, such as the Axis of Resistance,” Nasreddin Amer, deputy information secretary for Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, told Newsweek, “we will certainly never stand idly by in the face of any foreign, Western aggression against any country in our Islamic world.”

Other Axis of Resistance factions, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have also entered the fray since the conflict in Gaza began nearly seven months ago.

Tensions soared significantly earlier this month, however, after Israel conducted a deadly airstrike on a building attached to Iran’s embassy in Syria, killing several military personnel, and Iran launched a major direct missile and drone attack on Israel. Ansar Allah joined in on that historic salvo alongside other Axis of Resistance factions in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, after which Israel reportedly responded with a missile strike on Iran.

Now, Amer asserted the group would take a leading role should an all-out escalation erupt, one that would include defending its Axis of Resistance allies.

“Even if it is one of those countries with which we disagree, we will never leave it alone,” Amer said. “So, when it comes to those with whom we have alliances, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran and other parties of the Axis of Jihad and Resistance, we will certainly stand with all strength and determination alongside each other, and these are basically the teachings of the Quran.”