Strait talk: Yemen, mercenaries and the Iran war
In Season 2, Episode 18 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Ibrahim Jalal, an expert on Yemen and the Gulf. Ibrahim describes the major military escalation unfolding along the Red Sea coast and the tactics used by the Houthi. He explains the offensive’s timing and Iran’s bid to generate a two-strait crisis in advance of the US midterm elections. Ibrahim and Alia discuss the Russia and Iran-linked mercenary recruitment networks preying on young men of fighting age: Yemeni bodies may be sourced by the Houthi to fight for Russia in Ukraine in exchange for benefits such as intelligence sharing. They also consider whether ordinary Houthi soldiers are fighting for private gain, given the Houthis’ co-optation of the humanitarian aid system. Throughout, Ibrahim explores deep links to other Iranian-aligned groups in the region, including Iraq’s PMF militias, who were taught to bring down drones by Yemenis.
“Do these financial dividends and economic inducements [from the Houthi] actually make people more committed to the cause because through this cause they’re now making more money?”
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About the podcast
Guns for Hire podcast is a production of the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Initiative. Taking Libya as its starting point, it examines the causes and implications of the increasing use of mercenaries in armed conflicts.
The podcast features guests from many walks of life, from ethicists and historians to former mercenary fighters. It seeks to understand what the normalization of contract warfare reveals about the world we currently inhabit, the future of the international system, and what war may look like in the coming decades.
Further Listening
Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.
Image: Houthi supporters rally to celebrate advances by Houthi forces along the Red Sea coastline, in Sanaa, Yemen, September 18, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
