Crisis in Yemen: A Strategic Threat to U.S. Interests and Allies?

Hudson Institute will host a panel to explore the strategic implications of the conflict in Yemen. In 2014, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overthrew the government of Yemen and seized the capital. With U.S. logistical support, Saudi Arabia mustered a coalition to restore the government. In response, the Houthis waged war on Riyadh, firing ballistic missiles at civilian areas, including airports. Though the Houthis have been successful in portraying themselves as defenders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia as the aggressors, they have violated countless internationally brokered ceasefires and the conflict continues today.

In the U.S., Congress has voted to withdraw support from the Saudi-led campaign and the White House has turned up the pressure on Tehran, recently imposing sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—the Houthis’ patron. Can the Trump administration afford to let the Islamic Republic implant a Hezbollah-clone on the border of a key U.S. ally, thereby creating a failed state, and threatening international trade through Bab al-Mandeb?

The discussion will be moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Lee Smith. Speakers will include Bernard Haykel, Near Eastern studies director at Princeton University’s Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia; Fatima Abo Alasrar, senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation; and Michael Doran, senior fellow at Hudson.

**NOTE: This event is open to the press. All members of the media should RSVP to press@hudson.org.**