Former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo has a message about Iran, and it is not a subtle one. In a post on X on Wednesday, Pompeo argued that Tehran is leaning on its Houthi allies in Yemen to turn up the heat on Washington and Riyadh, framing it as a survival play by a regime under pressure.
"Tehran is using its Houthi proxies to raise the stakes for the United States and Saudi Arabia," he wrote. He added, "This is a critical part of the regime's survival strategy, and cannot be allowed to succeed."
Why the Houthis Matter Right Now
The timing is not random. Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly sought military assistance from President Donald Trump against Yemen's Houthi rebels, according to Reuters. Trump, rather than greenlighting direct U.S. strikes, offered intelligence support instead.
Since then, the Houthis have reportedly seized the Red Sea port of Mocha and reached Perim Island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That is a big deal for energy markets, because it raises the specter of disruption to another major shipping route at a moment when the Strait of Hormuz is already severely disrupted.
The escalation has piled pressure on Trump's efforts to wind down the Iran conflict, while U.N. officials warned that Yemen had entered a "new and more dangerous phase." For Saudi Arabia, which has increasingly leaned on the Red Sea route for its energy shipments, the developments are a fresh source of concern.
A Conflict That Keeps Widening
Rewind a bit and the picture gets even messier. Last month, Trump called off a planned attack on Iran and announced negotiations with Tehran focused on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program. Iran, for its part, denied asking Trump to halt the attack and said an Oman-backed shipping route did not mean the Strait would reopen.
In July, the Houthis threatened a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, stoking worries about global energy supplies and shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Meanwhile, the Trump administration ordered additional strikes on Iranian military targets even as ceasefire talks continued, and oil prices stayed elevated amid concerns over disruptions to key shipping routes.
Put it all together and Pompeo's warning reads less like a hot take and more like a status update on a region where the pressure points keep multiplying. The Houthis are not a side show. They are the lever Iran is pulling, and the question now is how hard the U.S. and Saudi Arabia push back.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.
