When mass spectacle replaces journalism, when lectures get interrupted for weapons training, when dissent becomes treason, you're no longer dealing with a functioning society. You've got a staging ground.

Mass rallies in #Yemen reveal only Houthis' control:
www.ideologymachine.com/p/manufactur...

The Houthis’ “Midri” campaign is narrative warfare, calibrated to obscure facts, disorient analysts, and erode accountability on the international level. @yemenifatima.bsky.social

Treasury’s sanctions drive home what’s been obvious for years: when #Houthis & their backers cried “blockade,” over #Hodeidah it wasn’t just about civilians or aid; it was about protecting their war economy, fueling a militia’s rise over #Yemen’s collapse.

home.treasury.gov/news/press-r...

Iran-US talks in Oman just ended.
apnews.com/article/iran...

A massive explosion, possibly linked to ammonium nitrate, the same chemical that caused the 2020 Beirut blast, struck Iran’s Bandar Abbas port in #Iran this morning. Over 500 injuries; the death toll is around 4 for now and rising. It's an absolute disaster that shows the fragility of the regime.

The U.S. and other outside actors should "stop asking if Yemen is 'ready for peace' and instead ask if the world is finally ready to treat Yemen as more than someone else's problem," @yemenifatima.bsky.social argues in DAWN's Democracy in Exile.

The Suez Canal is the fastest sea route between Asia and Europe, attracting about 12 to 15 percent of worldwide trade.

In an issue brief, the Atlantic Council’s Racha Helwa and Perrihan Al-Riffai explain why the canal’s security matters for the world:

detention of UN personnel by the Houthi terrorists in North Yemen. The international community must shame the Houthis and hold them accountable for their violations and reject the Houthis’ weaponization of aid, and the use of threats and kidnappings as a bargaining chip.

The second #Signal leak that was just covered by @nytimes.com isn’t just a D.C. drama, it has an impact on the ground. Genuinely concerned about how this could disrupt US operations in #Yemen and shape perceptions of Yemen policy.

#Houthis #Iran #Pentagon
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...

This Week in Democracy in Exile:

• Zine Labidine Ghebouli on what Trump 2.0 means for North Africa.

• Alex Martin Astley reports from Tripoli on how Syria's sectarian violence echoes in Lebanon.

• @afrahnasser.bsky.social & @yemenifatima.bsky.social on Yemen's endgame. mailchi.mp/dawnmena.org...

1/2 #China's military-linked satellite firm CGSTL is providing #IRGC-backed #Houthis with imagery to target US ships in the Red Sea, the same company that was previously sanctioned for aiding Wagner. www.ft.com/content/628b...

Basem Ganani is pretty reliably anti-Houthi. Looks like the US is going to try to rerun the SLC's 2015-2017 only stupider

The US is underestimating how many Yemenis are quietly on its side. They want the #Houthis out and support strikes, but not like this. Ras Isa wasn’t just a fuel hub. It was a civilian artery. Keep hitting civilians, and that support will flip. This war won’t be won with airstrikes alone.

This oil spill will become a strategic bargaining chip for #Houthis. The Houthis are likely to demand concessions in exchange for granting Red Sea access, even for environmental cleanup. Nothing in their territory is apolitical, not aid nor even disaster response.

So many updates from #Yemen. Most of all, the strike on Ras el Issa deserves to be unpacked. For my first post, I want to shed light on the context and how things are unfolding post the airstrike. It’s not just a military even, it’s a window into how narratives are built and how power is maintained.