The Iraqi government has pledged to prevent any non-civil activities by Yemen's Houthis on its territory, according to sources cited by the Arabic media Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, who confirmed that the Iraqi executive is working to restrict the movements of Yemeni rebels in the country and limit their actions to only media and cultural fields.

The Iraqi government's decision came on Tuesday, as the Trump administration intensified its attacks on the Houthis, who resumed their blockade of Israel in the Red Sea in response to the siege and bombings of Gaza. Iraq, which has hosted Houthi forces as part of the "axis of resistance" led by Iran, is now seeking to distance itself from the group.

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The media explains that since 2018, the Houthi group has had a "representative office" in the upscale Jadriya district of Baghdad, de facto supervised by Abou Idris Al-Sharafi – Houthi representative in Iraq since 2023 – in collaboration with other Houthi leaders, including Abou Ali el-Ezzi and Mohammed Abdel Azim el-Houthi. It adds that in recent months, Houthi officials have multiplied meetings with Iraqi political figures, as well as with leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces (Al-Hashd al-Shaabi) and other pro-Iranian factions, in Baghdad and in other provinces.

The Houthis, "a political burden" for Iraq

In early August, the group revealed that one of its commanders, Hussein Abdallah Mastour, from Maran in Saada province, was killed in an American strike targeting a site belonging to the Iraqi group Kataib Hezbollah in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad. This militia is closely linked to Iran.

An Iraqi political official told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that, "facing current regional challenges and the threat of an American escalation against Iran, the Iraqi government now considers the presence of the Houthis in Baghdad to be a political burden." He added that "many of their activities – including political and media – have been suspended for now, although their representatives are still present in Iraq."

Abdel Rahman Al-Jazairi, a member of the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told the same media that "international pressures have been exerted on Iraq to close the Houthi office and end their activities in the country."

"The government has therefore given assurances to regional and international actors that no non-civil activities by the Houthis would be allowed in Iraq," he specified.

This is not the first time the presence of the Houthis in Iraq has come under scrutiny. During the Syrian civil war, the Yemeni group fought alongside the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and several observers believe that Iran channeled Houthi fighters through Iraq to send them to Syria.

Washington fears that the Houthis might launch attacks on its bases in Iraq in retaliation for U.S. strikes, which have killed at least 61 people, including women and children.