Houthis Declare US and British Interests “Legitimate Targets,” Escalating Stakes of Iran's Destabilization Strategy
By Rita Katz | Published 01.12.2024
Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aaron Lau
The Houthi-led Supreme Islamic Council declared all American and British interests “have become legitimate targets” after both countries’ militaries bombed Houthi sites in Yemen, SITE reports. The strikes came in retaliation for ongoing Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
It’s critical to note how these developments serve Iran and its allies’ goals.
It remains to be seen if or to what extent the Houthis will enact these threats. Regardless, any such escalation would only serve Iran’s long game of destabilization.
The Houthi statement declared:
All American-British interests have become legitimate targets for the Yemeni Armed Forces in response to the aggression.
The aggression is an extension of the treacherous American targeting of the Yemeni naval forces and the Zionist aggression against Gaza.
Prior to the statement, President of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen Muhammad Ali al-Houthi exclaimed, “The American-British strikes are barbaric and terroristic, and they are acts of deliberate and unjustified aggression that reflect a savage mentality.”
The US Air Force’s Mideast command reported that its strikes hit “over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations, including command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems.”
It’s critical to note how these developments serve Iran and its allies’ goals. Dragging the US and its Western partners into another Middle East conflict would spread their resources and attention thin amid other critical fights—Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas, etc.—while sowing the exact type of destabilization that has always worked in Iran’s favor. It would also provide yet more fuel to the international unrest that raged amid fighting in Gaza, which serves as its own vehicle for destabilization against Iran’s adversaries.
The Houthis contribute to the same Iran-backed terrorist apparatus comprised of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shi’ite militias in Iraq, Hamas in Gaza, and beyond—none of which make any significant move without Iran’s request or green light.
It is also increasingly evident that even al-Qaeda has become another tool in the hands of the Iranians. After the death of leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Saif al-Adel became al-Qaeda’s de facto leader, effectively relocating its headquarters to Iran. Since then, the organization has exponentially ramped up its incitements against US-allied Arab governments. Following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, al-Qaeda called for a “Flood of the Two Holy Mosques” in Saudi Arabia akin to the Hamas’ “Operation al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel. Al-Qaeda and its leaders have issued similar incitements against the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and others. (More on this in a forthcoming article I am currently writing.)
All of these developments considered, these latest exchanges between Houthi forces and US and British powers are consequences of the environment Iran has fostered in the Middle East.
Rita Katz
Executive Director & Founder
Rita Katz is the Executive Director and founder of the SITE Intelligence Group, the world’s leading non-governmental counterterrorism organization specializing in tracking and analyzing online activity of the global extremist community. She has authored two acclaimed books on terrorism: Saints and Soldiers (Columbia University Press, 2022) and Terrorist Hunter (Harper Collins, 2003
