The Houthis Are the Last Horcrux. After That, the Iran Regime Is Alone.

Duane Patterson 9:40 AM | September 22, 2026
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

In J.K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels, the final two books dealt with horcruxes — parts of Lord Voldemort's soul that were stored inside objects both living and inanimate for safe keeping, preserving the Dark Lord's ability to remain immortal. The final two movies in the series, adapted from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, focused on the exhaustion and intensity of hunting down and destroying those horcruxes in order to make the most evil wizard who ever lived vulnerable enough to kill once and for all. 

In Rowling's fictional world, there were seven horcruxes — six that were intended, and one that was very much accidental. Once Harry and his friends had knocked out six of them, Harry had everyone focus on killing Nagini, Voldemort's snake, so that Harry could finish off his archnemesis in the final duel. 

The Iranian regime used to have many more than seven horcruxes, or bits of their soul, to foment terror around the Middle East and beyond, keeping the threat of Iran and its feared capabilities as the region's hegemon while working to join the nuclear weapons club. Whether it was Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, Palestinian Islamic Jihad also in Gaza and the West Bank, the Houthis in Yemen, six smaller Iraqi Shia militias that sprang up after Saddam Hussein was killed, a couple different warring factions in Syria, and even a few smaller groups in Bahrain, you can look around the region in September, 2026 and see that they're virtually all gone. There are pockets of resistance within Hamas that Israel is methodically picking off. And Hezbollah, by far the largest of Iran's proxy terror networks, is continuing to be dismantled by both the Israelis and the Lebanese Army daily. 

All the proxies, all of Iran's horcruxes, bits of their soul, are gone, save one — the Houthis. 

Existing only because the government of Yemen was corrupt and didn't have the will or ability to purge them from their midst while they formed, combined with money, manpower, training, and weapons provided by IRGC forces from Iran, and Saudi Arabia's unwillingness to enforce its southern border as much as Donald Trump was willing to enforce with ours, the Houthis spread like a malignant cancer, entrenching in the capital city of Sana'a in 2014 and never being seriously challenged...until now. 

The Houthis have been relatively quiet for all of 2026's kinetic and economic war with Iran until the last couple of weeks when they made a splash by attacking Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline with drone strikes. Iran, withering on the vine due to economic sanctions cutting off not just their ability to move anything in or out of the country by ship, but also now by land routes, was backed into a corner and predictably felt it had to lash out. 

What they could not back up in rhetoric about the Hormuz Strait, they encouraged their one final proxy to do by attacking the Kingdom's oil infrastructure in order to raise oil prices and put pressure on Donald Trump.  We'll get to the President's options regarding Iran in a bit, but the Voldemort horcrux analogy works very well with Iran. If the Houthis are destroyed, the Iranian rump regime is truly on its own. 

Two weeks ago, Yemeni forces, along with a group called the Giant Brigade, and the Saudis, ringed a whole bunch of Houthis in what should have been a turkey shoot in the center of the country. Had Saudi Arabia's forces held their line to the southwest, the Houthis would have been wiped out and Yemeni forces would have had momentum and an open backfield to retake Sana'a. Instead, the Saudis collapsed, opening up a lane through the mountains where the Houthis made a dash for the coastal strip by the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. 

Saudi Arabia immediately begged the Americans to send forces, air and ground, to do the fighting. Then they asked the Israelis to do it. What instead has happened, as I detailed in my last update, is that the Israelis and Americans are indeed helping by offering targeting and intelligence as well as training the Saudis and Yemenis to organize and regroup and take the Houthi regions back bit by bit. 

The Americans and Israelis certainly could join the fight in a more direct fashion, and indeed that is one of the options being given to the President this week by his military advisors. But thus far, in reporting I'll share here, the anti-Houthi forces do seem to have enough skin in the game, they're very well-armed, and they're much more organized than they have been at any time during Houthi occupation. And day by day, it appears the Houthis are on the losing end of the daily scoreboard. 

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The specific type of anti-tank ballistic missile being used isn't being broadcast widely by Yemen government or Saudi officials, but this bad boy has all the earmarks of a Saudi-made Kasir or Breaker missile. If the laser sight paints you as a target, you've got about a second to get right with God, because after that, there's nothing left to identify. 

This is in the Khabub Mountains, which is what the Houthis are trying hold to prevent ground forces from going through the pass to the coast they used two weeks ago. They're losing that high ground by the minute. 

This is not a one-off occurrence. The Yemeni government is putting out the greatest hits daily for anyone who wants to take note, of which American media is sadly not interested. 

Propaganda in Yemen, as it is in Iran and in the States, for that matter, is ubiquitous. The Houthis, the Saudis, and the Yemenis are all claiming tremendous victories. However, it's only the Yemenis and Saudis that can back that up with video results. 

If the Yemenis and Giant Brigades are engaging in Taiz, the mountain range overlooking the coast to the Red Sea and the Strait, and they're engaging and killing Houthis, and then advancing, this is not good news for the Houthis. 

Another way to determine how the war in Yemen is going against the Houthi horcrux is by doing a body count. There are some casualties reported by Yemen and the Giant Brigades, an anti-Houthi militia group aligned with the official Yemen government, but nothing like what the Houthis are admitting to. 

Translated from one account in Arabic, here's some of the notables in Houthis hierarchy that are no longer in the fight. 

These are the names of Houthi casualties from the leadership, which were announced today, and I am certain there are more than that. 

1-Brigadier General Ahmad Ahmad Al-Jaradi. Sana'a. Shu'ub
2-Colonel Ali Jabr Yahya Jarad. Saada
3-Colonel Hani Ali Saleh Al-Saeedi. Dhamar. Al-Hada
4-Major Fawaz Abdullah Hatim. Abyan. Al-Mukhadra
5-Captain Abdullah Hatim Muhammad Al-Nahmi. Sana'a. Bani Al-Harith
6-Captain Shmlan Abdullah Shtawi Al-Kabish. Saada
7-Captain Jabrill Abdullah Ahmad Shabaj. Hodeidah. Al-Manira
8-Captain Mahmoud Yahya Ahmad Atef. Hajjah. Kashir
9-Captain Ghamdan Muhammad Ali Jabr. Saada. Al-Safra
10-Captain Haitham Saleh Muhammad Al-Siyaghi. Sana'a. Al-Sab'een
11-Captain Abdul Qadir Muhammad Muhammad Al-Tawiti. Abyan. Yareem
12-Captain Khalil Nasser Al-Wazir. Hodeidah. Bajil
13-Captain Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Wazir. Hodeidah. Bajil
14-Lieutenant Noah Muhammad Ali Al-Tarifi. Sana'a. Al-Hayma Al-Dakhila
15-Second Lieutenant Hussein Ahmad Al-Omari. Saada. Saqin
16-Second Lieutenant Ahmad Asaad Muhammad Asaad. Iman. Dhi Bain
17-First Lieutenant Muhammad Afif Muhammad Al-Naqib. Abyan. Yareem
18-First Lieutenant Fouad Ali Qutran. Dhamar. Dur'an Ans
19-First Lieutenant Hashid Muhammad Al-Sha'uri. Abyan. Hazm Al-Azeem
20-Assistant Ali Muhammad Hassan Al-Ariyah. Hajjah. Qafil Shamar
21-Assistant Abdullah Muhammad Abdullah Adira. Iman. Harf Sufyan 
22-Hamdi Abdullah Abdul Malik Al-Hubani. Taiz. Khadeer
23-Fahim Fahmi Ali Al-Hazrani. Dhamar. Al-Manar
24-Habib Saleh Ali Jahiz. Hajjah. Kashir
25-Abdul Hakim Saleh Mubkhut. Dhamar. Dur'an Ans
26-Arafat Ahmad Muhammad Dhuban. Sana'a. Manakha
27-Hatim Ali Muhammad Al-Rashidi. Sana'a. Al-Hayma Al-Kharija
28-Muhammad Ahmad Radwan. Hodeidah. Bajil
29-Nour Al-Din Ali Ahmad Ghasham. Iman. Al-Sawda
30-Izz Al-Din Ali Ahmad Ghasham. Iman. Al-Sawda
31-Fouad Muhammad Abduh Al-Amri. Sana'a. Bani Al-Harith
32-Samir Abdullah Abdullah Al-Dhaifani. Iman. Masur
33-Mujahid Saleh Saleh Al-Sharasi. Al-Mahwit. Bani Saad
34-Riyadh Ibrahim Hassan Al-Hud. Al-Mahwit. Bani Saad
35-Nawaf Rashid Ali Ubaid. Iman. Dhi Bain
36-Abdul Ghafar Khalid Al-Tair. Saada. Saqin
37-Radwan Muhammad Hussein Muslimani. Hodeidah. Al-Zahra
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The Houthis are estimated to have lost at least five hundred fighters just in the last couple weeks. Stepping into these roles to fight Yemen and Saudi Arabia? Kids high as a kite on khat.

Okay, that's not entirely fair. It's not just kids making up the new Houthi fighters. If you're living in the metropolis of Sana'a and wondering why street sweeping didn't come this week, and now that you think about it, neither did the trash trucks the day before, or if the entire block smells like excrement because the sewage treatment plant is a tad bit understaffed of late, it's because all these workers have been dragooned to the front lines with guns...and khat.

Houthi supply lines are being hit. 

Another account translated from Arabic details, front by front, how the Houthis are being pushed back and killed. 

ابو ترڪي @abo_Turki1010 Translated from Arabic

Comprehensive Field Update on Battles and Military Movements in Yemen (from 4:00 PM until 8:12 PM today, Monday):

The past four hours have witnessed the broadest military escalation across various fronts, concentrated in the southern and western governorates, in close conjunction with a full mobilization of all combat units. 

1. Al-Khobub and Bab al-Mandab Front (Lahj Governorate)
•Field Situation: Outbreak of direct and fierce armed clashes using medium and heavy weapons starting from 5:00 PM. •Movements: The Houthi militia attempted a ground advance under the cover of rocket shelling that targeted the Bab al-Mandab commercial complex this afternoon. •Outcome: The Giants Brigades and Homeland Shield forces completely thwarted the attempt and are currently engaged in fierce zero-distance battles to break the Houthi assault lines amid intense mutual artillery bombardment concentrated in the western highlands of Al-Khobub. 

2. Western Taiz Rural Fronts (Al-Waz'iya and Al-Shamaytayn Axes) •Field Situation: Eruption of fierce battles in the vicinity of Jabal al-Marzam and Bani Umar village following 4:30 PM. •Movements: The Houthi militia deployed infantry reinforcements in an attempt to secure positions it recently infiltrated, met with a violent and intense counterattack from government forces backed by the Popular Resistance. •Al-Kadha Axis (Jabal Habashi): Intense and organized government artillery shelling began at 6:00 PM, precisely targeting Houthi supply lines coming from behind the recaptured Jabal Nu'man. 

3. Marib Governorate Fronts (Western and Southern Axes) •Field Situation: Government army intelligence detected intensive movements of combat vehicles and Houthi carriers transporting personnel attempting to position themselves in the darkness after 5:30 PM. •Outcome: Army artillery and mortar rounds directly and preemptively targeted those movements, resulting in the disabling of two military units and forcing the remaining elements to retreat. 

4. Maris Front (Dhamar Governorate) •Field Situation: Outbreak of intermittent clashes using heavy and medium machine guns with the onset of sunset today (6:15 PM). •Movements: Joint forces entrenched on the front raised combat readiness to the maximum to foil any expected Houthi suicide infiltration attempts coinciding with the anniversary of September 21.

Summary of the Geographical Situation as of 8:12 PM: The Houthi militia failed to achieve any new geographical advances during the past four hours, as joint forces and the army succeeded in maintaining defensive lines, absorbing the evening attacks, and inflicting losses in lives and equipment on the attackers.
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The Houthis did have one strike to boast about, but when they saw what it was, they immediately blamed it on Saudi Arabia, because instead of hitting militants, it was a double tap missile strike on a public market packed with civilians well south of their position on the coast. 

Since the strike on the pipeline last week, the Houthis have been on their heels. There were reports last night of explosions and firefights breaking out in Sana'a, the Houthis' last true stronghold. Everywhere else in Yemen they had established a presence is now under coordinated, relentless attack. 

As for the pipeline, the four million barrels of Saudi crude pumped daily to the west coast are down to a trickle — around a million. That is being more than offset, however, by rapidly increasing volumes through the Strait of Hormuz. 

On Sunday alone, more oil produced by Saudi Arabia left the region than at any time since the war began. 

Iran claims the Strait is closed. That's only partially true. The only country that cannot move commerce through the Strait is Iran. Oil is hovering around the hundred-dollar mark, but both Brent and West Texas receded a bit in the last week due to decreasing anxiety over future supplies. The big factor that is changing? The war in the Middle East tying up American resources is no longer fun and games to Secretary-General Xi Jinping in China. Donald Trump has flipped that script. 

I don't know how to say, "Knock it the F off" in Mandarin, but I'm pretty sure that's what Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi got an earful of in Beijing last week. 

South Korea is sending help to police the Strait of Hormuz and enforce the blockade. Great Britain has decided to add air refueling support to the Saudis in their fight against the Houthis. Centcom to date has blocked over 110 commercial vessels from Iranian ports, and mows the lawn on the Iranian southern coast every time a missile or a drone pops off. The U.S. now has out of Greenland everything it wants without the overhead costs of running the place, and Venezuelan crude is flowing to the U.S. at 780,000 barrels a day, with the expectation that volume will double by summer of 2027. In short, in spite of the media's hair on fire, the President's management of the Iranian problem has gone about as well as can be expected with the only exception being oil prices too high, a sentiment shared by virtually every non-oil producing country on Earth. 

And speaking of China, they lost a big player in the global currency market as Saudi Arabia has decided to return to the petrodollar instead of the petroyuan. 

As for Iran, depending on the day, there's either bad news, worse news, or 'the UFOs are here' news. Good news isn't really found anywhere. 

Last week, we told you about how you have to take your life in your hands if you're an Iranian wanting to fly commercially. Now, if you're one of those lucky few with a tractor trailer loaded with tomans to pay for an international flight, at best, it's become a one-way trip. At worst, your flight's been cancelled, you've paid your money, and you're not going anywhere thanks to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

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Here's the irony of ironies. Remember the poor Afghans who were so desperate to leave their country before the last American military plane left that they clung to wheel wells as they took off until falling to their death? That's Joe Biden's legacy. Yet some of those Afghans did get out. They left everything behind, took their wives and children, and many wound up in Iran seeking a better life. Five years later, they're trying to catch the last Iranian international flight back to Afghanistan while they're still able. Why? Because upon further review, life under the Taliban seems a less worse option. Think about that. 

Yes, the United States allowed the Iranian delegation to fly to New York for the United Nations General Assembly this week. Araghchi is indeed in the Big Apple. Sure would be an awful lot of fun to see the sanctions hit his government plane Wednesday and not have the ability to buy fuel for the return trip  home. Perhaps they'll have enough left in the wings to get to Toronto and then Mark Carney can pump the jet fuel in himself. Except even Carney isn't a big fan of the Houthis right now. 

I mentioned earlier that just about every one of Iran's proxy group horcruxes have been dealt with. After the stunt on the Saudi pipeline by a pro-Iranian cell in Iraq, and the immediate crackdown afterwards, that network is all but wrapped up. 

The regime's ability to project force outside Iran's borders becomes more laughable by the day when you see report after report of what constitutes Iran's ability to project force within its borders. 

This poor kid doesn't get to go to school. He works all day and dumpster dives in his spare time for food. If he did happen to go to school, this is what he'd be 'learning'. 

And here I thought math was going to be the class you wanted to skip. At least this poor dumpster diver has a future. He's a valuable asset to the regime...along with every other 12-year-old boy.

Speaking of kids, not all of them have been turned into day laborers and street rats by the collapsed Iranian economy. A lot of parents still are trying to make it as a family and take care of their kids. Now imagine trying to get medicine for a sick child when it costs over a million tomans. 

It's not just kids the regime is trying to recruit to fill out the ranks of the IRGC and Basij forces wiped out by suicides and desertions. 

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If you're one of the lucky few Iranians with the ability to find gasoline that isn't diluted and are out for a drive, Uncle Abdul wants you, too. 

Speaking of the gas shortage, things are not getting better on that front. 

Would you like a Red Bull? It'll give you wings...for 400,000 tomans. 

How about some ground beef? A kilo, or around two pounds, will set you back 1.7 million tomans, or a tenth of what you make in a month. 

The entire economy contracted in the second quarter of 2026 by a little over 10 percent. Many sectors were much deeper in the red. And that's before the blockade went into effect. 

President Trump could very easily conclude that we've tipped the scales against the Houthis in favor of Yemen, oil is still flowing, Iran is still dying, and hold his hand like a pair of kings at a Blackjack table. But he is signaling that he might engage in something, or that something else may happen, to speed up the regime's demise. 

Standing outside of Gracie Mansion in New York City with Comrade Mamdani, Trump added this. 

After last week's milk run by American and Israeli fighter jets to Tehran and back, the regime has had a case of claustrophobia. They no longer want to meet indoors and all their vehicles are being parked outside. They're very worried another strike is coming, and this time it's not going to be just along the coastline. 

The Israelis think President Trump is running out of patience, and they're getting ready to jump back into the game. 

Qatar continues to be the master of talking out of both sides of their mouth. While simultaneously calling for a new round of talks and some sort of negotiated settlement with the regime that allows them to save face and remain in power, they're allowing these bad boys to be parked on the tarmac a stone's throw away from the interior of Iran. 

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And finally, from the X files, Iranians looked to the skies a couple nights ago and saw this. 

I don't know if that's a rupture in the multiverse over Tehran and the Avengers need to assemble, whether it's Donald Trump's secret discombobulator doing another test flight, or Turkey advertising cheaper Red Bulld in Ankara. Add it all up, and you still can't predict what Trump will do. He certainly seems to be staging for another round of something kinetic to force Iran to either make a mistake or cave. He might be out of patience and decide to move regime change from the unstated to stated U.S. goals with regards to Iranian foreign policy. Or he could be causing the remaining IRGC and Basij forces to look to the skies instead of at the masses of people ready to take to the streets armed with guns, knives, half-working cars, or rocks. 

If you remember your Harry Potter lore, it wasn't the bespectacled hero who had to take out every horcrux. Neville Longbottom was the unlikely hero wielding the sword of Gryffindor against Lord Voldemort's snake, leaving Harry to finish off the Dark Lord. 

The indications for the second week in a row are the Americans and Israelis are offering enough assistance to Yemen and Saudi Arabia to begin nuetralizing and destroying the last remaining Iranian proxy threat, leaving the weakened regime to face the American and Israeli forces completely alone. How that final battle plays out — with a series of imminent strikes or over time as the sand runs out through the glass, remains to be seen. 

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

Help us continue to report on Trump and Hegseth's successes as they make our military great again. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.

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DONALD TRUMP HOUTHIS IRAN ISRAEL SAUDI ARABIA YEMEN

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