The Houthis: a snake in the saucepan for Saudi Arabia.

In my language, there is a saying that goes: Semusota gwa'muntamu...  

This saying is about a difficult situation where one finds a live snake in his cooking pot. If they hit it, they don't cook as the the pot will be dirtened by the remains of the snake or even get broken. And yet, if they don't hit the snake, they still won't cook because there is no way one can use a pot when there is a snake breathing inside it. 

This saying is used to describe a hard situation where one has very few options, and this seems to be the case with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are a Zaydi Shia political and military organization that controls large parts of Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa. The group started in the 1990s in northern Yemen as a religious and cultural revival movement for the Zaydi Shia minority, led by the Al-Houthi family.[1, 2] 

After years of local insurgencies, the Houthis seized control of Sanaa in 2014, which triggered a military intervention by a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government.[1, 2] 

Saudi Arabia opposes Houthi influence because the movement poses a direct threat to the kingdom's national security, economic stability, and regional standing. [1, 2, 3]

Riyadh views the Houthi movement in northern Yemen as an extension of Iranian influence on its southern border, feeding into a broader regional cold war. [1] 

Saudi Arabia and Iran are fierce rivals because they are competing for political and religious leadership in the Middle East. [1, 2]

Saudi Arabia is a majority Sunni Muslim country and sees itself as the guardian of Islam's holiest sites. Iran is a majority Shia Muslim country and views itself as the protector of Shia communities across the region. [1, 2]

Both nations want to be the dominant power in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia wants to maintain the current political order, where it is respected as the defacto global custodian of Islam. On the other hand, Iran's post-1979 government has historically pushed for revolutionary change and influence among muslim countries.[1, 2]

Between March and April 2022, A UN-brokered truce brought a virtual pause and informal ceasefire to large-scale cross-border fighting between the Houthi and Saudi-led coalition, after about seven years of active conflict. [1,]

For four years (2022-2026), there has been period of relative calm in Yemen and the ceasefire has held firm during this period, though the underlying political conflict remained unresolved.

The truce shattered around mid-July 2026 following an airstrike on Houthi controlled Sanaa airport and subsequent Houthi missile and drone retaliations targeting southern Saudi Arabia, ending the four-year lull. [1, 2] 

Subsequently, there has been renewed hostilities, airstrikes and regional escalations have reignited the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces. [1, 2,] 

The Houthis seized the port city of Mocha in September 2026, delivering a major blow to Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. [1, 2]

The group took control of two additional strategic islands near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, tightening their hold over vital maritime chokepoints. [1, 2] 

Leveraging these territorial gains, the Houthis established an effective selective blockade against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. [1, 2] 

Lately, the Houthis occasionally launch a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones targeting Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, and oil facilities in Yanbu, triggering explosions and disrupting airport operations. A drone strike forced the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline near Yanbu, escalating economic pressure. [2, 3] 

Saudi Arabia's crown prince and defacto ruler Muhammad Bin Salman called US president Donald Trump at least twice in September 2026 to request direct American airstrikes or military action against Houthi forces. [ 2, 3] 

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on, two regional officials said Wednesday.

The officials said the Saudis have asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to the region to help defend against missiles and drones fired by Houthis.

The outreach was initiated because Saudi Arabia’s main ally and arms supplier, the United States, has seen its own stock of interceptors dwindle over the course of a six-month war with Iran.

Trump rejected the request for direct military intervention in the Saudi-Houthi conflict. Washington instead offered limited support focused on intelligence sharing and targeting assistance, maintaining a directive to avoid opening a new direct military front. [3, 4] 

Pakistan, a new found ally to Saudi Arabia, is hesitant to join the war against Houthi rebels because Islamabad views the newly signed Mecca Pact as a defensive shield rather than an offensive obligation. [1] 

Besides, fighting the Houthis means challenging Iran's powerful military. [1] 

Iran backs the Houthi rebels. Pakistan wants to avoid angering Tehran as Tehran is Pakistan's ally and friendly neighbor as well. 

Therefore, rather than risk border security with Tehran, Pakistan prefers talks over direct military action. [1, 2] 

This is not the first time Saudi Arabia is trying to form a coalition against the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition intervention in Yemen launched in March 2015 failed to achieve its core objective of dislodging the Houthi movement and restoring the internationally recognized government to Sanaa. [1, 2,] 

This coalition comprised a number of powerful countries that include: *United Arab Emirates (UAE): Provided extensive military involvement, notably contributing thousands of ground troops in southern Yemen before drawing down forces later in the conflict.

*Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait: Provided logistical and naval/air support. 

Qatar: Participated initially before being suspended or withdrawing from the coalition in 2017. 

* Sudan: Contributed ground troops.

Later additions included: Eritrea and Pakistan which provided varying degrees of logistical or territorial support or later alignment by 2018 (though Pakistan's parliament initially declined direct military engagement in 2015). [1, 2] 

The United States and United Kingdom provided crucial logistical, intelligence, and military hardware support (such as aircraft maintenance and munitions) to the Saudi air operations. [1] 

The Houthis are currently targeting Saudi Arabia with drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure, urban centers, and military bases, alongside ground and maritime escalations, putting a strain on both Saudi Arabia's economy and the global oil supply as well.[1, 2, 3]

The situation as it currently stands, with no country willing to directly assist Saudi Arabia in its on going operations against the Houthis, the the situation has become like a snake in the pot for Saudi Arabia. If it keeps attacking them, they will ramp up their attacks on the wealthy kingdom's economic infrastructure and if it chooses diplomacy, it has legitmised Houthi presence in Yemen and therefore, has accepted defeat. 

Besides, there is no guarantee that with another peace settlement, the Houthis won't seek to advance further South.