Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies

4 days ago | sanaacenter.org | Sam Ali

In mid-2015, Yousef[1] and his extended family escaped from an aerial bombardment near his hometown, Al-Shareefiah, a village outside Haradh in northern Hajjah governorate. The 68-year-old head of a large household had found refuge in Hayran, a nearby district, hoping the airstrikes would stop soon so he and his family could return to their homes and large banana plantation. But air and ground attacks intensified in Haradh and nearby areas, including Hayran, where they were taking shelter.

1 week ago | sanaacenter.org | Ryan Bailey |Hussam Radman

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meets with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a visit to Tehran on April 17, 2025 // Photo from Khalid bin Salman's X account All eyes were on the Iranian capital, Tehran, where Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman arrived on April 17.

4 weeks ago | sanaacenter.org | Ned Whalley

“This [is] not about the Houthis.” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, March 2025.[1]Recently leaked US attack plans, shared inadvertently with Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, were startling not just in their disclosure but in what they disclosed – that the Trump administration may have no intermediate or long-term plan for how to deal with the Houthis.

2 months ago | sanaacenter.org | Casey Coombs |Ned Whalley

On January 23, the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) detained seven UN staff members working in Sana’a.[1] In response, the UN halted the movement of all staff working in Houthi-controlled territories[2] as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the UN workers’ immediate release.[3] But the incident is just the latest in a string of disappearances and detentions of UN, NGO, and civil society staff in Yemen, who are often held without charge and denied contact with lawyers or family...

2 months ago | sanaacenter.org | Abdulghani Al-Iryani

For over a year now, the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) kept the world staring in amazement as they defied all odds and challenged the US, Britain, and a host of Western navies as they enforced a debilitating siege on the Israeli port of Eilat. With the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza, the Houthis have pledged to continue targeting Israeli vessels until all phases of the deal are complete, and the group’s undiminished capabilities provide a constant threat of new attacks.