Houthi rocket set off alarms in Jerusalem, Iran was pleased

Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami claimed that Iran’s “resistance” axis has not been weakened.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN DECEMBER 28, 2024 14:53

NOW THAT ISRAEL revised its doctrine, neighboring states’ armies should be deterred in peacetime and preempted in wartime, but jihadist militias should be fought anytime, because Israel cannot afford their presence anywhere along its borders. Here, Houthi supporters raise their rifles along with th (photo credit: ABDALLAH ADEL/AFP via Getty Images)

The IDF intercepted a Houthi missile threat overnight. 

The missile set off sirens in the Dead Sea area, the southern West Bank, and Jerusalem, appearing to indicate that the Houthis are attempting to target a new portion of Israeli territory..

It’s also possible that the interception occurred in an area that caused the sirens in these places to go off.

What matters is that the Houthis are not deterred, despite recent IDF airstrikes. They appear ready to continue to attack Israel almost every night. They usually fire one missile at a time, meaning they would need to have a stockpile of dozens or hundreds of these missiles to keep this volume up for the next months.

Praising the Houthis

 Meanwhile the head of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami praised the Houth “resistance and their support for Palestine,” saying that they will eventually emerge victorious, Iranian state media said. “The Yemenis [Houthis] will continue their resistance, as they have so far resisted with dignity, and they will ultimately win,” Salami said in an interview with the Houthis Al-Masirah TV Network on Saturday.

A Houthi follower wears a vest portraying the Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi during a parade held as part of a 'popular army' mobilization campaign by the movement, in Sanaa, Yemen February 7, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

The IRGC leader claimed that Iran’s “resistance” axis has not been weakened. He is referring to Hezbollah and the fall of Assad. He is thus putting on a brave face as Iran invests in the Houthis as a kind of “last man standing” in the Iranian map of proxies in the region. Iran wants the Houthis to continue their attacks to keep pressure on Israel.

“He also hailed the Yemenis for their weekly rallies, which they have been holding on Fridays in support of the Palestinians in Gaza since the Israeli regime unleashed its war there in early October last year,” IRNA wrote. Iran is watching the Houthi attacks closely and hopes that they can keep them up for the next months. Iran knows that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, that caused Hezbollah to stop its attacks, could end in the next weeks. Iran is watching closely what happens next.