Abdul-Malik al-Houthi criticized the Yemeni government for maintaining a status quo in the country, which he said had plunged people into poverty, and accused the government of marginalizing the Zaidi community. The Yemeni government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh accused al-Houthi's group of trying to reestablish the
"clerical imamate", which al-Houthi denied. Al-Houthi was reported to have been badly injured during an air raid in December 2009, a claim denied by a spokesman. On 26 December 2009, two days after a heavy air strike from the
Royal Saudi Air Force, it was claimed that Al-Houthi had been killed. However, the claim was refuted by the Houthis, who then released video evidence showing he was alive. Al-Houthi addressed the nation on
Yemen TV in a late-night speech on 20 January 2015, after troops loyal to him
seized the presidential palace and attacked the private residence of president
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in
Sana'a. He demanded Hadi implement reforms giving the Houthi movement more control over the government. Although it was initially reported that Hadi conceded to al-Houthi's demands, the president resigned from office on 22 January, saying the political process had "reached a dead end". The
UN Security Council then imposed sanctions on al-Houthi. He was praised by Iranian conservative politician
Mohsen Rezaee, in a statement of moral support and defense of "real Islamic awakening". During the bombing of the Sanaa airport by Saudi-led coalition warplanes in 2015, missiles pounded al-Houthi's hometown of Marran. Al-Houthi condemned the
UK military cooperation and arms sales to Saudi military. According to a
Sky News analysis, The UK has sold at least £5.7bn worth of arms to the
Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015. In March 2025, al-Houthi condemned the
massacres of Syrian Alawites and publishing of such killing on social media. He accused Syrian
Takfiri groups of committing genocide against defenseless citizens. ==International reaction==