By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2026-10-07

Houthi leadership is recklessly thrusting Yemeni fighters into lethal danger under direct guidance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

This strategic subservience serves the Iranian regime's regional objectives while Yemen pays the ultimate price with its security, stability and future.

On September 19, Yemeni deputy Information Minister Abdulbasit al-Qaedi confirmed the death of Houthi commander Firaq Mohsen al-Assar during fighting near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Al-Assar, who actively mobilized fighters from Ibb province, died alongside six aides while defending Iranian interests rather than Yemeni territory.

This loss highlights the tragic reality that the militia treats its own commanders as mere assets within a broader, destructive campaign.

Serving foreign Interests over Yemen

Political analyst Waddah al-Jalil asserts that Houthi leaders are driving their own fighters directly into fatal and unavoidable death traps.

"The group has transformed into an operational tool managed by IRGC advisors who show zero regard for Yemeni lives," he told Al-Fassel.

Reports confirm IRGC advisors operate throughout Yemen, directing everything from high-level operational planning to specific maneuvers on the frontlines.

Consequently, local observers are urgently pleading with fighters to abandon the frontlines rather than sacrificing their lives for the Iranian regime.

"The Houthi leadership has completely abandoned its Arab identity to act as a foreign proxy spreading chaos," al-Jalil said.

By increasing pressure on Saudi energy exports and opening new regional fronts, the militia ensures Yemen faces mounting death and destruction.

Humanitarian crisis deepens across Yemen

The humanitarian disaster is reaching catastrophic levels as a new wave of forced displacement compounds an already entrenched, mass suffering crisis.

Armen Yedgaryan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Yemen, noted that over 5.2 million people were already displaced before these latest escalations.

Currently, more than 22 million Yemenis require urgent humanitarian assistance to survive, underscoring the massive scale of this tragedy.

Abdul Rahman Berman, executive director of the American Center for Justice (AFC), condemns the Houthis for prioritizing their foreign patron's expansionist agenda.

"Houthi militias have left their people hungry and abandoned their responsibilities to turn citizens into war machines," he said.

They actively fight against international organizations providing essential aid and destroy income sources, leaving families destitute and completely defenseless.

This systematic conflict is effectively dismantling the social and humanitarian fabric of the country, ensuring that the next generation faces only uncertainty.