Where is Yemen heading and what do the Houthis want?

In September of last year, when the Houthis entered Sanaa, they declared their aim to oppose the rise in fuel prices and support the 'deprived' classes. However, now, with their military position strengthened in the capital of Yemen and several other provinces, they have seized all important government centers and are on the verge of toppling 'Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi', the President of the country. This situation arises as the world and regional countries have become more observers of events in Yemen rather than taking effective action to limit the Houthis' movements. The Security Council has issued a statement regarding the situation in Yemen, and even if this statement turns into a resolution, who will guarantee its implementation? Currently, the United States has no desire to intervene in the situation in Yemen. European countries, apart from issuing statements and condemning the Houthis, will not take practical action. Regional countries, especially Saudi Arabia, currently have no plans to intervene in Yemen, and it seems unlikely that this approach will change in the near future. The dominance of one religious group over the government through the power of arms will plunge Yemen into a new civil war and create a new Somalia near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Various sects and tribes in Yemen have long reached a balance with other groups by recognizing their geographical boundaries. However, now one of these sects has gone beyond its circle of supporters and is advancing with the power of arms and the lack of regional and international barriers. This situation will create a full-scale religious war of the worst kind in Yemen. What do the Houthis say? Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the leader of the 'Ansar Allah' group in Yemen, has set four basic conditions to end the country's crisis: 1- Reforming the oversight committee for the National Dialogue Congress, which oversees the final drafting of the country's constitution. Recently, 'Ahmad Mubarak', the head of the Yemeni president's office, was kidnapped by 'popular' committees affiliated with the Houthi group while transferring the draft constitution to this committee. This Houthi condition is essentially aimed at establishing a 'Guardian Council' over the Yemeni constitution similar to what is prevalent in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2- Changing articles of the draft constitution, especially articles 36 to 40. These legal articles in the fourth chapter of the Yemeni constitution draft state that no political group or party should possess arms, and only the institutions carrying arms in the country according to law are the two ministries of defense and interior and their affiliated organizations. During national defense, only the elected president has the legal authority to issue a general mobilization order, and no organization or party has such permission. 3- Accelerating the implementation of the 'Peace and National Partnership Agreement'. This condition was repeatedly emphasized by Abdulmalik al-Houthi. His statements, broadcasted on the 'Al-Masirah' television, were accompanied by threats whenever he approached this condition. In fact, Abdulmalik al-Houthi threatened others that he would use all means, including force, to quickly implement the provisions of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement. This agreement was signed after the Houthis entered Sanaa between their representative and Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, outlining a 'roadmap' for Yemen's future, the shape of the political system, and the fight against administrative corruption. However, the preamble of this agreement includes a security annex that requires the Houthis to hand over their weapons to the government and leave the capital as soon as possible. The Houthis have never accepted this annex, and subsequent events have shown that these armed militants have no intention of surrendering their weapons. On the other hand, the main reason for the Yemeni president's preparation of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement was that the Houthis would hand over their weapons and leave Sanaa. Now that the Houthis have no intention of surrendering their weapons and continue their armed occupation of the capital, they are inherently violating this agreement. 4- The implementation of comprehensive security measures by the government. The Houthis mean by security measures those areas or neighborhoods where their forces are attacked. Over the past five months in Sanaa and several other provinces, Houthi forces have been attacked by their opponents, and their advance has been halted in two provinces, 'Rada' and 'Marib'. In his statements on Tuesday night, Abdulmalik al-Houthi accused the Yemeni president of corruption. He implied that Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi sends secret aid to armed groups, especially in Marib, which is an economic region and holds the majority of Yemen's oil centers, to resist the Houthi advance. The Houthis suffered a heavy defeat in this region and now, by imposing the condition of 'security measures' on the president, aim to solve their security problem in areas under attack through a political step. Paralyzing the government and establishing a new security and political structure. After opposing several candidates for the presidency of the government, the Houthis accepted the premiership of 'Khaled Bahah' by imposing their security and political structure. The prime minister, whose workplace was besieged by the Houthis during the recent events in Sanaa, has practically lost his effectiveness in managing the country's affairs due to the actions taken by armed militants within ministries and departments. The Houthis have appointed monitoring groups within each ministry, and no work is done without their supervision and oversight. They have access to all confidential documents of the offices, and the most secret government matters are conducted under their supervision. In addition to the monitoring group, a 'judicial guardian' has been appointed for each ministry and department. This judicial guardian, according to them, can uncover 'corruption' relations and issue immediate rulings. Despite this, Abdulmalik al-Houthi's statements on Tuesday night indicate that they do not want to accept responsibility for the lack of effectiveness of the country's political and administrative organization. He blamed the government and the president for the country's problems. In fact, the Houthis control all the economic and political choke points of the government in the capital, but the responsibility lies with Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his prime minister. The accumulation of the country's problems and the failure to present specific solutions can affect the daily lives of ordinary Yemenis, and in this context, public opinion in Yemen and the region identifies the Houthis as responsible for the increasing problems. However, the Houthis try to shift the responsibility onto the president. They hope this propaganda policy will yield results for them. The competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen. So far, Iran has been able to realize what it expected from the situation in Yemen. The Houthis have gradually achieved more of their military objectives in Yemen, which may also align with the goals of the Islamic Republic. However, Iran has not yet succeeded in bringing Saudi Arabia to the negotiating table regarding Yemen. Iran's strategy in this regard is to link Yemen to other regional issues and exert pressure through Yemen to facilitate matters such as Syria and Bahrain. However, Saudi Arabia's strategy is based on placing the Houthis before the international community and regional countries and condemning them, and if an opportunity arises, taking practical steps to limit the Houthis' movements. However, if there has been any negotiation between Iran and the U.S. regarding Yemen in the recent nuclear talks, this could negatively impact Saudi Arabia's strategy in Yemen, especially if these negotiations were about combating al-Qaeda in Yemen. The Houthis insist on presenting themselves as the enemy of al-Qaeda in Yemen, which could provide a potential force for the United States to position an armed ideological group against al-Qaeda without incurring costs from that country. The meeting between Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. in Geneva, indicates that the two sides have come closer than what has been stated. However, this proximity, although it has not yet manifested itself in the nuclear issue, could show itself in Middle Eastern matters.