Security
Houthis prioritize anti-Western stunts over tackling Yemen’s humanitarian crisis
As Yemen suffers, the Iran-backed Houthis focus on sanctions and attacks on Western targets -- actions experts call hollow propaganda.
![A Houthi fighter stands guard in front of a giant screen broadcasting Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on September 19. [Mohammed Huwais/AFP]](/gc1/images/2025/10/09/52325-houthi_fighter-600_384.webp)
By Faisal Abu Bakr |
While the Houthis stage headline-grabbing stunts against Western targets, Yemen’s humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate.
Millions of Yemenis remain without adequate food, healthcare, or safety.
Experts say that instead of focusing on symbolic anti-Western gestures, the group should turn its attention toward rebuilding the country it claims to defend.
They dismissed the Iran-backed group’s recent sanctions on Western oil companies as political theater designed to counter growing US pressure rather than a legitimate policy move.
On September 30, the Houthis’ Sanaa-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) announced sanctions on 13 US companies – including ExxonMobil and Chevron – along with nine executives and two vessels.
The move, HOCC claimed, was retaliation for US sanctions imposed earlier this year despite an earlier truce agreement.
A mission for extortion
The HOCC, formed to coordinate between the Houthis and commercial shippers, functions more as an extortion arm than a legitimate regulator, experts said.
"The HOCC, which identifies ships in the international lane, is reportedly running a fraudulent scheme. It uses the guise of ensuring safe passage to extort shipping companies," said Abdul Qader al-Kharraz, research projects director at the Arab Democratic Center in Berlin.
"This center is merely a Houthi tool used to threaten and bomb ships while simultaneously blackmailing shipping companies," he added.
"The Houthis lack the capacity to impose sanctions, yet they continue to pose a threat to international navigation and engage in piracy. This behavior exacerbates Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and undermines regional stability," he said.
Al-Kharraz emphasized that the Houthis’ actions demonstrate a disregard for Yemen’s stability and the needs of its people.
"Their attacks seek to destabilize the region, which directly compromises Yemenis’ access to food, services, and basic security," he said.
Ignoring the people’s needs
The latest sanctions announcement is mere propaganda aimed at distracting their supporters and domestic public opinion from the severe food crisis and widening circle of poverty and suffering, said political analyst Faisal Ahmed.
Ahmed described the move as part of a broader external strategy serving Iran’s geopolitical interests.
"The timing is particularly notable because the targeting of the Dutch ship occurred right after Europe triggered the snapback mechanism to tighten sanctions on Iran," he said.
On September 29, a day before the sanctions announcement, the Houthis fired a cruise missile at the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht in the Gulf of Aden.
The attack set the vessel ablaze and injured two crew members.
"The Houthis are implementing the Iranian regime’s agenda by confronting the Western sanctions that have been imposed on Iran and its affiliated entities," Ahmed added.