The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed that they rejected a proposal from the US and UK. According to the Houthis, the proposal would include the Houthis stopping their attacks in exchange for some kind of “recognition” of the Houthi “government.” This would run contrary to international norms and would basically reward the group for terrorizing ships and illegally attacking ships and attacking Israel.
It’s unlikely that the US and UK would have offered the Houthis a deal like this. The reports have been picked up by several media. They have been reported by pro-Hamas media and also by Iran’s state media. “There is always communication after every operation we conduct,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement’s political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV. “These calls are based on either threats or presenting some temptations, but they have given up to achieve any accomplishment in that direction,” the official said, according to Reuters.
A US official quoted by Reuters said the claims were a “fabrication.” Reuters noted that “the Houthis have damaged more than 80 ships in missile and drone attacks since November, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least three crew members.”
There are several possibilities regarding the Houthi claims. It may be a complete fabrication designed to muddy the waters and create controversy. It could also be the Houthis way of leaking details about back-channel talks in inventing some details about the talks in order to launch a kind of trial balloon. The other option – least likely – is that the Houthis are telling the truth.
Houthi endgame
The overall goal of the Houthis is to seek legitimacy for their attacks. They launched a long-range missile at Israel on September 15. They want to show that this kind of illegal attack results in gains for them.
The group has been attacking ships and attacking Israel for 11 months and so far it thinks it has gotten away with most of this. It wants to show – as part of the Iranian axis – it can achieve numerous goals through its attacks. One goal would be legitimacy for its regime.
In 2015, when the Houthis tried to take over Aden and most of Yemen, they were confronted by a Saudi-led intervention in Yemen’s civil war. Later, the Saudis were pressured into a ceasefire. Then the Chinese brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
With the Saudis out of the way in 2023, the Houthis felt confident to take part in the war on Israel that began with the Hamas attack in October. The Houthis feel empowered. They feel they have achieved their goals in Yemen and are trying to export their power around the region.
The Houthis today are as much of a danger to the region as Hezbollah. However, their attempt to achieve more legitimacy appears to be a way for them to seek a path that is more confident than that of Hezbollah.
They are trying to achieve what the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq achieved in 2019 when they became an official force underneath the government. The Houthis though, don’t want recognition from Yemen’s government; they want to supplant it.
They are now leaking information that they think will call into question the consensus regarding their status in Yemen. They hope that the recent launch of a long-range missile can help accomplish this, even if it means inventing details about a US and UK offer.