Houthi leaders are making noises like they are about to jump into the Iran War. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, the governor of Yemen's Dhamar province and spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, also known as Ansar Allah, said in an interview on Friday that the decision to stand with Iran “has been made,” saying the “zero hour” declaration will occur when the time is ripe. He further elaborated in Kamala-esque word salad that the war “is not an aggression against Iran alone, but a broader battle targeting the countries of the region." Considering Iran is flinging missiles at every nation in the Persian Gulf, plus Cyprus and Turkey, it is sort of difficult to unpack who, other than Iran, is being targeted by the U.S. and Israel.
Brigadier General Abed al-Thawr, a military advisor to the regime and regime television talking head, further discussed in an interview with the Palestinian Quds News Network. "The first step will be declaring a naval blockade against the U.S. and Israel,” to prevent commercial and military traffic through the Red Sea. “Another possible measure is closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait and imposing a complete maritime embargo on ships heading to Israel, in a move similar to what Yemeni forces did during the Gaza support operations,”
There are multiple angles to this development.
Saudi Arabia's oil production is now mostly going to the Red Sea. Since the war broke out, the pipeline's volume has increased from one million barrels per day to seven million barrels per day.
With Hormuz shipping at a standstill, Saudi Arabia is utilizing Red Sea pipelines to sustain crude flows. But is this enough?
— Amwaj.media (@amwajmedia) March 13, 2026
Revisit @veenaalikhan1's analysis of the Kingdom’s bypass infrastructure—a system currently operating at its limit, yet only addressing a fraction of… https://t.co/l0Dk3uabWx pic.twitter.com/CM1SLIQyEJ
This is becoming a favored route rather than running the Strait of Hormuz, paying extravagant war insurance premiums, and knowing that the reception you get will depend on how enthusiastic the sheep were last night.
Supertankers Build Up in Red Sea as Saudi Arabia Races to Bypass Hormuzhttps://t.co/FDBTX1hy7p
— gCaptain (@gCaptain) March 13, 2026
Saudi Arabia’s race to bypass the Strait of Hormuz has led to a buildup of oil supertankers waiting off the kingdom’s Red Sea coast to collect cargoes, as Riyadh tries to overcome unprecedented disruption caused by the Iran war.
In the past day or so, 11 very-large crude carriers reached the port of Yanbu and are now waiting nearby before starting loading, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Any outbreak of usual Houthi behavior would throw a wrench into this workaround.
The real question is what, if anything, do these statements mean. Not to draw broad generalities, but Arabs are sort of renowned for equating words and actions. Saying you will sink an aircraft carrier is the same as sinking one. So the statements may mean they've reached an agreement to go to war in concert with the Iranians, or it may mean they like the idea but can't fit it into their Ramadan fasting schedule.
Having had a can of whoop-ass opened on them back in the April timeframe, and having the benefit of seeing what the full effect of American airpower is, I'd hope they'd be a bit reticent before jumping in, but who knows? They don't seem as bright as the graduates of the famed Quality Learing Center.
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A lot of what happens next will depend on the true condition of Iran's defenses. The Houthis rely entirely upon Iran for their supplies of missiles to attack shipping. If, as I suspect, Iran's stocks are low and the missile and drone factories demolished, the Houthis will have to make a display with what they have on hand. I don't think that will be a terribly attractive prospect. If, on the other hand, those people claiming Iran is reserving its best stuff for the real fight are correct, then we will see the Houthis enter the fray in a week or so. That will be a sign that Iran's stockpiles are larger and manufacturing capacity more robust than most of us had considered possible.
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