Houthi’s crimes in Yemen

"God is Greater...Death to America...Death to Israel...Damn the Jews...Victory for Islam" is a slogan adopted by the Ansar Allah terrorist group for its political movement, but the reality on the ground proves that it has not abided by any of these principles, instead drawing their guns and weapons on unarmed civilians and destroying their country.

Ansar Allah was founded in 1992, taking Saada in northern Yemen as its main center. Later, it became known as the Houthis, after its founder, Badr al-Din al-Houthi, who is the group's religious leader.

The movement's leaders and members belong to the Zaidi sect of Shiism. Although the movement is driven by charismatic Zaidi Hashemite figures and inspired by the presence of Yemen’s Zaidi Hashemite heritage, they were not a challenge to the Yemeni government or a local manifestation of the transnational Shiite crescent.

The current leader of the movement is Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the son of Believing Youth Forum founder Badr al-Din al-Houthi.

The Saudi government accused Iran of supporting the Houthis group, interfering in Yemen's internal affairs and destabilizing the country. In 2009, the Yemeni authorities announced that they had seized an Iranian ship loaded with weapons to support the Houthis, but Tehran has denied the accusations.

While a number of Shiite clerics such as Muqtada al-Sadr announced their support for the Houthis, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi called on Iran to stop supporting the Houthis in December 2009 and Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi spoke about Iranian interference in Yemen and the arrest of Iranian-affiliated cells in Sanaa during his visit to the United States in September 2012.

In late 2012, Yemen's national security chief, General Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi, accused Tehran of supporting the Houthis militarily and trying to establish a foothold in Yemen. The Yemeni government has also repeatedly announced its arrest of Iranian spies and reiterated its assertions of Iranian support for the Houthis, having seized Iranian boats loaded with weapons, explosives and anti-aircraft missiles on route to the Houthis in January 2013.

Former Yemeni Interior Minister Abdul Qader Qahtan, a member of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), said the ship was coming from Iran carrying 48 tons of weapons and explosives, adding that the security authorities completed an investigation with the ship's crew. Yemen requested the UN Security Council to investigate the case and the sanctions council responded to the request.