Maged al-Madhaji, the president of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, explains how United Iran-aligned Houthi rebels are able to disrupt energy flows in the Red Sea.
It is an unexpected turn in the war raging in the Middle East. Just over a month after the start of American-Israeli bombings in Iran, Houthi united rebels claimed their first attack on Israel on Saturday, March 28. The entry into the war of this group allied with the Islamic Republic is all the more surprising as this member of the pro-Iranian “Axis of Resistance” – an alliance of non-state paramilitary groups anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment fostered by Iran for almost forty years – had remained relatively discreet since the beginning of the conflict on February 28.
President and co-founder of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank founded in 2014 in Aden, southwest of Yemen, Maged al-Madhaji is one of the country’s top experts. In an interview with Le Point, this political analyst and human rights activist decrypts the reasons behind the Houthi rebels joining the fight alongside Iran.
DR
Le Point: Are you surprised that the Houthis have finally decided to enter the war by striking Israel?
Maged al-Madhaji: Not at all. This reaction was expected from the beginning. The question was closely related to what is considered the “operational management” of the “Axis of Resistance,” largely directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. While there are indeed calculation divergences among the various components of the Houthi movement, the final decision ultimately rests with the leadership, in this case Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. He remains ideologically committed and deeply aligned with the conflict in its jihadist dimension.
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