Iran's arm in Yemen, the Houthi rebels, has been working diligently to expand its arsenal, amassing new equipment that poses a “direct threat” to shipping, critical infrastructure and the wider region, experts have said.
An investigation by Conflict Armament Research (Car) documented more than 800 weapons components recovered in seizures in the Red Sea and found the Houthis acquired “an array of advanced missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles”.
Led by the anti-Houthi Yemeni National Resistance Forces, last year's weapons interdictions were some of the largest – and included 750 tonnes of munitions and hardware.
The shipments showed the Houthis are now in possession of new weapons that were previously not known to be in their stockpiles, including anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, as well as underwater weapons.
In comparison to the group's archaic Soviet-era missiles of 2014, the 2025 seizures show it now has at least 10 missile types. The weapons also came in parts, labelled with codes indicating which component belonged to each system.
“Crucially, the missile names are all Iranian rather than the terms used by the Houthis,” Car reported, further bolstering the belief that Iran continues to supply weapons and intelligence to the Houthis despite speculation that the group had become largely self-reliant.
The heavy Iranian influence in the procurement and categorisation of the components does not mean that it is the only source of them. Only five per cent of the 800 documented components came from Iran, while the rest came from 16 other countries and territories, the report said.
This shows that while the Houthis rely on Iran, Tehran depends on foreign technology to sustain its own missile and drone systems, the report found. The head of research at Car, and one of the report's authors, Rob Hunter-Perkins, called them “DIY kits” and said the system was designed to be complicated.
“The emergence of these self-assembly packages not only makes these shipments harder to detect but also shows the high degree of planning and co-ordination that has gone into maintaining these supplies.”
The fact the weapons came in parts also indicates the Houthis possess the technical knowledge to do so, the report said.
Despite these strong connections, the Houthis have attempted to position themselves as an ally, rather than a proxy of Iran, taking several positions to show they are not subservient, but are a willing participant in Iran's regional activities.
The group notably played a small role during the Iran war with the US and Israel, unlike their attacks on the Red Sea during Israel's bombardment of Gaza. They also struck a de-escalation deal with Saudi Arabia in 2019, years before the kingdom's rapprochement with Iran.
Regardless of the Houthis' attempts to distance themselves from Iran, evidence from the seized weapons cache shows they are clearly highly dependent on its supply network.
“Car’s analysis found electronic components that were produced in the last two years, indicating that the procurement networks acquiring this material are robust and persistent, and that Houthis are being supplied with newly developed systems.”
