The Houthis Are Still a Threat—Will Trump Finally Take Them Out?

After nearly a full month, Iran’s Houthi proxies have finally entered the latest Middle East war. On Saturday, the militant group in Yemen fired missiles at Israeli military sites. The attack came after weeks of hostile rhetoric from Houthi leaders, including threats not just to military targets but also civilian shipping in the Red Sea. Funded and armed by the Islamic Republic, these Shiite extremists are expanding the war at the behest of their masters in Tehran. 

It is somewhat surprising, though, that the Houthis took so long to join the fight. In the conflicts sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror attacks against Israel, the Houthis have always been eager participants in Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” proxy network. But in a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Harvard University instructor Asher Orkaby argues that President Donald Trump’s actions since 2025 have successfully reestablished deterrence. The terrorists in Sanaa see what is happening to their counterparts in Iran and want to avoid such a fate themselves. 

Perceptive as this insight is, though, Orkaby goes too far in recommending the United States formally recognize the Houthis as rightful governors of Yemen. As this weekend’s strikes prove, the United States and her regional allies simply cannot be reconciled to these brutal terrorists. They may not be as powerful as their Iranian partners, but they are just as ideologically committed to anti-American jihad. Furthermore, such a move would alienate important Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia—and right when America needs them most. 

The best way to handle the Houthi threat is exactly how we have dealt with the dangers posed by other Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas: decapitate the leadership, disarm the militants, and partner with sane actors in the region to reimpose order and stability. Just as appeasement could not put a stop to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, we must recognize that diplomacy is by no means the simple solution to the problems in Yemen. Even if elements of the Houthi leadership remain in power, negotiations will only succeed if they are backed by American might.

Read more in Providence.