Clara Broekaert, a researcher at the Soufan Center, said, “The current pause presents a strategic opportunity for the Houthis to rearm and reposition.”
Tehran provides them with “missile and drone technologies, military and intelligence support” but the rebels are “not puppets acting at Iran’s whim,” he said. “Dependency works both ways” between Iran and the rebels, he said, adding that “this gives the Houthis significant bargaining power.”
A senior member of the Revolutionary Guards is part of one of the Houthis’ essential decision-making bodies, according to Juneau. But the rebels have retained a certain autonomy from their Iranian backer.
Camille Lons, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the group 1. allows Tehran to “maintain pressure points, 2. and retain regional assets and networks in Yemen.”
