By Fatima Abo Alasrar

The United States designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) took effect on March 4. 

This move comes after years of fruitless diplomatic efforts where international institutions treated the Houthis as legitimate partners at the negotiating table, only to be outplayed at every step. 

Throughout this time, the Iran-backed Houthis not only cemented their alliance with Tehran, but also expanded their war to the Red Sea and Israel continuing to pose a threat on vessels in the Red Sea. 

This geopolitical confidence and expansion of their military arsenal couldn’t have occurred without help from a crucial yet underestimated player: Russia.

Mohammad Abdulsalam, the chief Houthi spokesperson once courted by Western diplomats as a potential peace negotiator, was one of the seven individuals the US designated, along with six other high-ranking Houthi leaders.  

Abdulsalam has been quietly traveling to Moscow in his capacity as a spokesperson for the Houthi militia and under the guise of his position as a mediator for Yemen’s conflict, strengthening a relationship that benefits both the Houthis and the Kremlin.

The US sanctions specifically focus on individuals involved in weapons procurement and smuggling operations, directly addressing the group’s regionally threatening military capabilities. 

The targeting of Moscow-linked Houthi figures is the clearest indication yet that the group’s relationship with Russia is no longer just a matter of convenience but a calculated military alliance. 

These sanctions expose a supply chain of instability through a transnational weapons pipeline linking Tehran, Sanaa, and Moscow in a web of illicit arms transfers that goes beyond the Houthis’ ideological fanfare or mere opportunism.  

For a movement that once claimed to be “independent,” the Houthis have instead become a tool of foreign powers, shifting from an Iranian proxy to a Kremlin asset. Russia, isolated by its war in Ukraine, recognized the Houthis’ potential as a pressure point against the West. 

Tehran and Moscow have long understood that armed non-state actors, when properly equipped, can shape global conflicts as effectively as standing armies. 

The FTO’s treasury designation’s focus on relations with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Russia makes it clear that the Houthis are not the architects of their own rise, but merely instruments in a much larger geopolitical contest.