The US launched multiple strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis overnight between March 15 and March 16. The strikes are not only extensive, but the Trump administration is vowing to keep up the pressure on the Houthis. Iran may now be distancing itself from the group.
If Iran loses the Houthis as a major proxy, it will represent another setback to Tehran. It will also illustrate the overall weakness of the proxy alliance that former IRGC-Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani constructed over decades. Soleimani was killed by the US in January 2020.
US President Donald Trump may now be kicking out another leg of Soleimani’s terror empire.
Iranian state media IRNA said on March 16 that “the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami said that Yemen’s Houthi “resistance movement makes its decisions independently.” He said that Iran is not involved in Houthis' decisions.
This comes as a missile landed in Egypt’s Sinai, which appears to be an escalation by the Houthis.
Iran uninterested in US talks
The Iranian comments come as the Iranian Supreme Leader said that Iran is not interested in a recent letter from Trump that offers talks. “We have always declared – and we declare again today – that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land, with an independent national policy,” Salami said during a speech on Sunday.
Iran openly says this is their response to “President Donald Trump’s statement ahead of ordering a wave of airstrikes against Yemen on Saturday.” He warned Iran. Iran has received the warning and apparently doesn’t want to find out that he is serious. “We publicly announce responsibility for any military operation or support we provide,” the Iranian officer said. He then referenced the attack on Israel last year.
“There is no reason for us to carry out an action and not accept responsibility for it,” he added. “We warn all enemies that we will confront any threat and will respond even more forcefully,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said that the US will not dictate policy to Iran. This also came in response to Trump’s comments about the Houthis.
“The United States Government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy,” Araqchi wrote in a post on X. IRNA noted that Trump had said on Saturday that he had ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and threatened to hold Iran “fully accountable.”
Meanwhile, Araqchi spoke with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, and said Iran is ready to “engage in dialogue with European countries based on mutual respect and shared interests,” IRNA noted. Thus Iran is distancing itself from the Houthis and also not ready for talks with the US but is open to talks with European countries.
It appears that Iran may be distancing itself from the Houthis or at least trying to insulate itself from responses if the Houthis carry out attacks. Iran doesn’t seem to want to confront the US at this time. This also shows how the Iran proxy network that seemed so strong after the Hamas attack, and ran wild in the region for a year, now faces challenges. Its strength is also its weakness. It is too spread out, and Iran can’t protect the proxies.
Iran has tried to close the Red Sea to shipping, attack US troops in Iraq, set the West Bank ablaze, and push Hezbollah to war, all since October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack was meant to be a first shot in a regional and global war. However, Iran may have miscalculated. The proxies cannot withstand the blows by themselves; they only work when they can do a multi-front war or get appeasement. They did this for years in Iraq until Trump killed Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Now, Iran fears the same for the Houthis.