The leader of the Yemeni Houthi terrorist organization, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, demanded the Muslim world work to revive “conscious spiritual Jihad” against America and Israel in remarks Thursday, condemning Muslim-majority countries he suggested were embracing “passivity.”
“The enemy only understands the language of force, and the Ummah [the global Muslim community] needs to focus on the strength of deterrence,” Houthi asserted, according to a translation of his remarks by Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV. “Whenever the enemy escalates, we should escalate even more at all levels and activities.”
Houthi also appeared to condemn Saudi Arabia without naming its government – which his group, formally known as “Ansarallah,” bombed for years following the eruption of an ongoing civil war in Yemen in 2014. Houthi insisted that Muslim countries should unite to attack Israel in response to its self-defense attacks against another Iran-backed terrorist group, Hamas, and condemned those that had not taken an overtly pro-jihad stance in their foreign policy.
“It’s astonishing that some regimes negotiate security agreements with America for protection,” Houthi was quoted as saying. Reports began surfacing in late April, during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s most recent visit to the country, that Saudi Arabia was finalizing a major security deal with Washington. At press time, however, no such deal has been announced.
The Houthis are a Shiite terrorist organization that seized control of Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, in 2014, ousting the legitimate government of the country to the southern city of Aden. The Saudi government has been among the world’s most enthusiastic supporters of the government of Yemen and actively engaged in military activity against the Houthis in the country, creating essentially a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The hostilities between the Houthis and the Saudis largely concluded following peace talks in September.
“The kingdom continues to stand with Yemen and its brotherly people and … encourages the Yemeni parties to sit at the negotiating table to reach a comprehensive and lasting political solution in Yemen under the supervision of the United Nations,” the Saudi government said in a statement at the time. Shortly after that agreement, both Iran and Saudi Arabia entered the alternative economic and political alliance BRICS, joining Russia, India, China, Brazil, and South Africa, as well as a host of new members.
While apparently condemned the Saudis, Houthi also appeared to suggest that his terrorists would be interested in using the Saudi weapons arsenal against Israel.
“If any Arab country desires, we are ready to activate the capabilities stored in its warehouses instead of letting them rust or be misused against the enemy,” he offered.
The message to the greater Arab world was couched in an announcement that the Houthis’ terrorist campaign in the Red Sea would soon expand. The Houthis have been using drones and missiles to target commercial ships in the pivotal trade route, taking advantage of Yemen’s central location. Houthi leaders claim they are only targeting ships traveling to and from Israel, or ships with ties to America and Britain, the latter in response to joint airstrikes against the jihadists. In reality, however, the Houthis have bombed a large number of ships with no clear ties to Israel, and some with clear ties to the Houthis’ allies, such as Iran, Russia, and China.
From now on, Houthi said on Thursday, any commercial ship affiliated with a company that is not actively hostile to Israel will be a target.
“Any ships of any company involved in supply or transporting goods to the enemy and to any destination will be targeted. Any ship transporting goods to enemy ports will be a target for us wherever our hands reach,” PressTV quoted Houthi as saying. He said Ansarallah would consider expanding its attacks to an even broader range of targets if he deemed necessary.
“When we make a decision at a certain stage, it means that we have the capabilities to implement it,” he claimed.
The suggestion that the Houthis are well-equipped to act on their threats follows several similar menacing statements that the Houthis have yet to follow up on. In March, for example, the Yemeni terrorists announced they would begin targeting ships attempting to avoid the Red Sea by navigating around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, but no such attacks have been reported since then. Similarly, this week, Houthi leaders claimed they would begin targeting ships in the Mediterranean Sea for attack.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that, by Houthi estimates, the group had “targeted” 112 vessels since declaring war on Israel.
The Houthis issued a formal war declaration against Israel in October in their capacity as the illegitimate and unrecognized government of Yemen. The declaration was in response to fellow Iran-backed jihadist group Hamas invading Israel on October 7 and engaging in the mass slaughter of an estimated 1,200, abducting about 250 others, and engaging in gruesome human rights atrocities including gang rapes, torture, and the desecration of corpses. The Hamas attack, which the government of Iran approvingly branded the “al-Aqsa flood,” prompted a global wave of condemnation of Israel from avowed jihadists and their allies.
