The Houthis’ leader says the militants will not be swayed or cowed by incoming US President Donald Trump to stop their attacks on Western and Israeli shipping.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said: “We will continue to escalate with all the means that we have.
“Our operations at sea continue … and other operations in the depth of the Israeli-occupied Palestine,” he added in a weekly broadcast to supporters translated live by Iranian television.
The only way Trump could change the situation is by stopping the war in the Middle East, according to the Houthi leader.
“The result of the US elections will not impact our primary stance,” he said. “There’s no choice for the enemies but to stop the war and the siege of Gaza and to stop the war on Lebanon.
“If he [Trump] is honest, then let him stop the aggression the US is a partner in.”
Citing the experience from the first Trump presidency between 2016 and 2020, al-Houthi expressed doubts that the president-elect wants to or can bring peace to the Middle East.
“He did not end any wars, he did not end the war in Yemen, in Syria, in Iran, he did not do anything — he’s incapable, he’s only very good in taking money from the Arab regimes,” he said.
His statements seem to contradict speculation in Arab social media accounts after the US election that the Yemeni rebels might suspend their attacks on shipping.
On 4 November, the rebels’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree vowed that the Houthis will keep chasing vessels they believe to be affiliated with Israel, even after their sale to third-party interests.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have attacked more than 100 civilian vessels with missiles and air and sea drones, hijacking one ship, sinking two vessels and damaging dozens of others.
At least three seafarers have been killed and 25 have been held in captivity for 11 months.
Commercial traffic through the Red Sea has halved, upsetting and diverting international trade flows.
