Disrupting the Iran-Houthi Supply Line

For too long, the Houthis have disrupted global trade, undermining a vital US national security interest.

Their campaign of attacks over the Red Sea, fueled by Iranian-supplied weapons, has continued for nearly two years, despite sporadic US strikes and intensifying Israeli operations.

It’s time for Washington to turn the tables with a new approach: severing Iran’s supply line to its Yemeni proxy.

Failed Attempts

The Houthis’ assaults have significantly harmed global trade, firing over 680 missiles and drones at nearby ships and more than 280 projectiles at Israel since October 2023.

As a result, maritime traffic in the Suez Canal has dropped by roughly 59 percent. Large shipping carriers have rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, adding extra transit days and up to $1 million in additional fuel costs per trip.

Additionally, redirecting traffic has fueled inflation in Europe and resulted in $7 billion revenue loss for Egypt in 2024.

Worse, the Houthis’ Red Sea attacks directly violate a core US national security interest: ensuring global freedom of navigation.

The longer the Houthis exercise de facto control over a corridor that once carried nearly 30 percent of global container traffic, the more likely US adversaries might start wondering just how potent US redlines really are.

Yet, attempts to stop these attacks have fallen short.

Past military efforts and the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism in Yemen (UNVIM) have failed to curb Iran’s arms smuggling, exposing a lack of global political will to confront the problem.

The international community remains occupied with other threats, such as China and Russia, and fear that deeper involvement could escalate the conflict or signal support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Iran remains the central enabler. It arms, trains, and funds the Houthis, who still rely on Iranian weapons and technology despite increasingly producing advanced weapons indigenously.

In July, authorities seized more than 750 tons of Iranian arms bound for Yemen.

Sharper Strategy

Washington needs a sharper counterterrorism strategy centered around interdiction efforts.

First, it should lead a coalition intelligence cell to map Iran’s supply routes to Yemen.

Using all-source intelligence and predictive artificial intelligence, the coalition can identify and track shipments carrying illicit cargo.

Simultaneously, the United States should lead the effort to directly focus Combined Maritime Forces International Task Forces 150 and 153 to capitalize on this new intelligence and conduct more aggressive at-sea interdictions.

The US should also pressure the UN Security Council to enforce the current arms embargo on Yemen, demanding UNVIM inspect all ships entering the country regardless of their origins or alleged contents.

By permitting uninspected shipments to enter Yemen, UNVIM empowers the Iranian Qods Force to conceal weapons and weapons components among civilian goods.

Additionally, Iran and its proxies smuggle weapons components through flights to Sanaa and across Yemen’s border with Oman.

While Yemeni authorities intercept some of this contraband, they lack the resources to halt it entirely.

The United States should therefore help create a task force dedicated to monitoring and interdicting Iranian weapons smuggling along the Yemen-Omani border.

After nearly two years of Houthi attacks, ending Iran’s arms pipeline to Yemen is the only way to restore freedom of navigation, stabilize global trade, and protect US interests in the Red Sea.