Iran’s New Grand Design: The Next Evolution of the Axis of Resistance
Iran is transforming its Axis of Resistance into a decentralized, Yemen-centered network that leverages the Houthis to threaten both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, extending Tehran’s coercive reach over the world’s key maritime chokepoints and reshaping the post-war balance in the Middle East and Red Sea.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
Despite claiming they are poised to attack, the Yemeni Houthis have yet to join Iran and its other proxies in their fight against the United States and Israel. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak to MEI Associate Fellow Nadwa Al-Dawsari to unpack why the Houthis continue to stay on the sidelines of the Iran war and what might prompt them to join the fray. They also discuss the Houthis’ evolving role within the Axis of Resistance, what the Yemeni group has learned from its earlier rounds of direct conflict with Israel and the US, as well as whether its actions could precipitate a renewed flareup in Yemen’s civil war.
In a remark that is likely to heighten tension in the Gulf region, the Iranian chief of staff of the armed forces has called for setting up naval bases across on the coasts of Yemen and Syria in the future.
The State Department has welcomed an agreement among all Yemeni parties and the Saudi-led coalition to observe a 72-hour cease-fire beginning on October 19. The warring factions agreed to “implement a full and comprehensive halt to military activities of any kind and help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemenis across the country.”[i]
Yemeni Factions, Saudi Arabia Escalate Aimless War
The parties to the intractable Yemen war appear further entrenched in their enmity than ever before, despite U.S. and British efforts to push Yemeni leaders toward new negotiations.
Monday Briefing: This Week's OPEC Meeting, and the Latest on Aleppo and Yemen
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ruba Husari, Charles Lister, and Charles Schmitz provide analysis on events including OPEC’s upcoming meeting to discuss production rates and a potentil freeze, Russia’s bombardment of Aleppo following the collapse of the latest cease-fire, and the worsening humanitarian disaster in Yemen.
The War in Yemen: Political Impasse and Humanitarian Crisis
September 14, 2016 – Charles Schmitz, MEI scholar and professor of geography at Towson University, sits with Paul Salem to discuss the state of play in Yemen, where more than a year of war has led to thousands of civilian casualties and compounded a long-standing humanitarian crisis.
Monday Briefing: Turkey's Iran Outreach and Regional Diplomatic Strategy
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gonul Tol, Alex Vatanka, Charles Schmitz, and Robert S. Ford provide analysis on current issues including Turkey’s regional diplomacy as President Erdogan is set to visit Tehran, the Iranian perspective on Turkey’s role in the region, Secretary Kerry’s visit to Saudi Arabia amid renewed fighting in Yemen, and ongoing attempts to broker a cease-fire deal in Syria.
Monday Briefing: Manbij Offensive, Yemen Talks, Turkey-Israel, Tunisia Unity Government
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Robert S. Ford, Charles Schmitz, Gonul Tol, and Mabrouka M’Barek provide analysis on recent events including Manbij offensive, Yemen talks, Israel-Turkey rapprochement, and Tunisia national unity government.
Monday Briefing: Syria Cease-fire, Yemen Talks, and Iran Elections
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Charles Schmitz, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent events including the Syrian cease-fire, Al-Qaeda losses in Yemen, and Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Monday Briefing: Syrian Peace Talks, Yemen's Cease-fire, and Saudi Regional Diplomacy
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Charles Schmitz, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the next round of Syrian peace talks, the cease-fire in Yemen and the negotiations ahead, and Saudi King Salman’s visits to Egypt and Turkey.
Just days before the first anniversary of the Saudi air campaign in Yemen on March 26, the U.N. special rapporteur to Yemen, Ould Cheikh, announced a cease-fire to begin April 10 followed by a third round of talks between the warring Yemeni factions on April 18. These talks have a better chance of success than previous attempts. The Houthi-Saleh alliance has long insisted that a complete and final cease-fire proceed any talks, and in previous attempts at negotiation, announced cease-fires never took hold and talks went nowhere.
U.N. mediator to Yemen, Walid Sheikh, recently succeeded in negotiating the release of a number of political prisoners held by Houthi rebels, including a government minister, as a confidence-building measure. Despite this small success, the third round of negotiations in the Yemeni conflict appear to be floundering without a start date.
