The Houthis are increasingly operating independently of Tehran, posing a "clear and very present danger" on the international stage as the terror group rearms and sharpens its strike capabilities, a former U.S. envoy warned Thursday.
asserted
envoy → operate → capabilities
The warning came amid deadly missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days and growing threats to global shipping routes and critical Middle East infrastructure in the run-up.
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warning → come → up
Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, also confirmed Thursday that Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had killed 17 and injured 333 others from Oct. 7-11.
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attacks → lead → Oct.
Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, al-Maliki said the Oct. 10 attack involved 10 drones, missiles and other projectiles.
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attack → speak → drones
"King Khalid International Airport has been subjected to 20 attacks since (Oct. 1)," he noted.
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he → subject → Oct.
Tim Lenderking, who served as U.S. special envoy for Yemen from 2021 to 2025 and was posted to Saudi Arabia from 2013 to 2016, said Saudi officials had warned more than a decade ago that the Houthis would become a major threat, a prediction he says has now materialized.
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he → serve → prediction
"The Saudis were very clear to our leaders that they viewed the Houthis as a major threat," Lenderking said of his time in the kingdom a decade ago.
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Lenderking → view → kingdom
At the time, he said, the group was "quietly building up their capability, burnishing their narrative of why they sought to lead Yemen as a messianic group, as a group from northern Yemen, with an agenda, with a mission."
The Houthis had emerged as a religious and political movement in Yemen in the 1990s, but their ties to Iran developed into a military partnership after 2014, when Tehran expanded its assistance and training during Yemen's civil war.
"
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Tehran → say → war
The Houthis don't really need the Iranians anymore," Lenderking, a former acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs at the U.S. State Department, continued, adding it was still "a very important relationship that "enabled the Houthis to become the powerful force that they are."
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they → need → Houthis
Lenderking, now a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), said, over time, the Houthis had developed their own "homegrown indigenous capability" as they capitalized on any disunity across the Gulf region.
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they → say → region
Saturday's missile and drone attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh raised concerns that President Donald Trump could be drawn into a broader regional conflict as Saudi Arabia seeks U.S. assistance.
uncertain
Arabia → raise → assistance
Asked whether the U.S. would defend Saudi Arabia against further attacks, Trump said, "You'll find out soon."
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You → ask → attacks
Speaking at an MEI briefing, Lenderking said the Houthis' sophisticated weapons and targeting capabilities have transformed the group from a regional insurgency into an international security threat.
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weapons → speak → threat
"They have the capability to hit around the region, including up into the northern reaches of the Red Sea.
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They → have → Sea
So, this is a regional problem, and given the fact that the Houthis control the west coast of Yemen," Lenderking said.
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Lenderking → give → Yemen
Lenderking cited the precision of the Riyadh airport attack as evidence of the Houthis' growing capabilities compared with earlier strikes during the Gaza conflict.
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Lenderking → cite → conflict
"They can hit things better.
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They → hit → things
Now, they are hitting Terminal Four of Riyadh Airport, very specifically.
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they → hit → Airport
It's a clear and very present danger," he said.
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he → say → ?
The Houthis reportedly launched multiple drones followed by cruise and ballistic missiles that traveled more than 620 miles to Riyadh, prompting an investigation into possible Saudi air defense failures, according to The Associated Press, citing regional officials.
uncertain
that → launch → officials
Saudi forces intercepted two more ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh on Monday.
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forces → intercept → Monday
On Tuesday, a Houthi strike caused damage to Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran, sparking a fire that spread across several floors, Reuters reported.
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Reuters → cause → floors
Lenderking said the Houthis have built extensive weapons supply chains, smuggling networks and domestic financing operations that allow them to sustain attacks without relying solely on Tehran.
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them → say → Tehran
"They get a lot of supplies off the open market through the internet, through commercial exchanges.
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They → get → exchanges
They have a very well entrenched smuggling network, from big boats onto small boats, onto tiny boats, on the pack animals, on people's backs.
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They → have → backs
"They are able to move things undetected through government terrain, even through various borders and with a lot of wide open space there.
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They → move → space
They are constantly moving, building, resupplying, restocking, innovating."
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They → move → ?
The group's self-sufficiency also extends to financing.
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sufficiency → extend → financing
Lenderking said the Houthis generate revenue through black-market oil sales, taxation and extortion while also forcing families to provide recruits, allowing the group to continue fighting even if Iranian assistance is cut off.
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assistance → say → recruits
"They have had support from Iran over the years, so they have money in the bank from that," Lenderking said.
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Lenderking → have → that
"They relied on sales of black market oil in the past.
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They → rely → past
They extort Yemeni transport companies, businesses.
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They → extort → companies
They tax people in areas that they control.
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they → tax → that
They force many families to offer up a son to fight on the front lines.
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They → force → lines
"
The Houthis' expanding arsenal has raised concerns about potential Chinese involvement in their weapons supply networks.
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arsenal → expand → networks
Yemen's government has accused the rebels of seeking Chinese components for medium-range ballistic missiles, raising concerns about the group's access to advanced military technology.
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government → accuse → technology
"There is a Chinese connection here that's very detrimental," Lenderking warned, adding that front companies have helped the group obtain weapons through commercial channels.
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group → be → channels
Lenderking warned that the Houthis could also target Saudi energy facilities, pipelines and desalination plants, infrastructure critical to the kingdom's economy and water supply.
uncertain
Houthis → warn → economy
"The Houthis have hit pipelines," he said.
asserted
he → hit → pipelines
"They have diesel plants and other energy infrastructure in their sights."
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They → have → sights
…and 5 more, not listed.
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