Yemen HOUTHI REBELS P-WR2 200 rials 2025

Wow! Get one of these banknotes, the only one issued by the Houthi Rebels in Yemen!

"Issued by the Central Bank in Sana’a (controlled by the Houthi group)
The central bank in Aden (aligned with the internationally recognized government) condemned the introduction of this note from an “illegal terrorist entity” and warned that anyone found possessing, using, or trading the new banknotes would face penalties." (Bank Note Museum)

Front: Al-Janad Mosque in Taiz

Back: Oil tankers in Al Ma’alla port in Aden

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis (Arabic: Ansar Allah, “Supporters of God”) are a Zaidi Shia Islamist movement from northern Yemen, centered in Saada province near the Saudi border. They began in the 1990s as a religious-political revival movement among Zaidis, a branch of Shia Islam distinct from Iran’s Twelver Shiism but historically closer to Sunni practice than to Iranian theology.

After years of marginalization by Yemen’s central government, the Houthis fought six wars (2004–2010) against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. In 2014, exploiting state collapse after the Arab Spring, they marched on Sana’a and seized the capital, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee. This triggered the regional war when Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in 2015 to restore that government.

Ideology and alliances

Their ideology mixes:

• Zaidi revivalism

• Yemeni nationalism

• Anti-U.S., anti-Israel, anti-Saudi rhetoric (their slogan: “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam”)

Militarily and politically, they are part of Iran’s regional “Axis of Resistance” (with Hezbollah, Syrian regime forces, Iraqi militias). Iran supplies:

• Missiles and drones

• Training and intelligence

• Media and political support

But they are not puppets; they are an indigenous Yemeni movement with their own power base and agenda.

Why they matter globally now

Since 2023, the Houthis have attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait, claiming solidarity with Gaza and targeting vessels linked (sometimes loosely) to Israel, the U.S., or their allies. This has:

• Disrupted ~12–15% of global maritime trade routes

• Forced rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope

• Triggered U.S. and UK airstrikes on Houthi missile and drone sites

• Turned Yemen into a frontline of the wider Iran–U.S.–Israel strategic confrontation

In short

The Houthis are:

• A Zaidi Shia insurgent-turned-state power

• De facto rulers of northwestern Yemen and Sana’a

• Militarily aligned with Iran and Hezbollah

• Ideologically anti-Western and anti-Saudi

• Now a global shipping disruptor and a key node in Middle Eastern great-power chess

Not a terrorist gang, not a normal government — but a revolutionary movement that successfully became a state and learned to play missile diplomacy in one of the world’s most strategic maritime chokepoints.

Al Janad Mosque
Traditionally attributed to the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, Al Janad Mosque is among the oldest Islamic sites in Yemen. Its enduring simplicity and role as a regional gathering place root it deeply in the early spread of Islam across the southern Arabian Peninsula.

Taʿizz
Long regarded as Yemen’s cultural and intellectual capital, Taʿizz sits at the meeting point of highland scholarship and coastal trade routes. Its history is shaped less by ports and palaces than by learning, craft, and a distinctive urban refinement.

Port of Aden
Set beside an ancient volcanic harbor, the Port of Aden has linked the Red Sea and Indian Ocean since antiquity. Once among the world’s busiest coaling and refueling stations, it remains a symbol of Yemen’s outward-facing maritime legacy and global exchange. Aden was the capital of the British colony of South Arabia, which later became South Yemen, which merged with North Yemen in 1990. The Houthis control most of the territory of the former North Yemen, thus they do not control Aden, despite Aden's being on the only banknote that they have issued.

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