Report: China Supplying Key Weapons Components to Yemen’s Houthis

The Wall Street Journal reported today (Tuesday) that Chinese companies are supplying the Houthis in Yemen with critical components for building drones. The report indicates that alongside Iranian support, the Yemen-based terrorist organization has another supply channel. The information is currently being reviewed in the United States.

It should be noted that Iran has denied for years that it supplied weapons to the Houthis. It has said that it supported them only “politically.” However, intelligence reports from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States determined that Iran smuggled weapons to the Houthis and assisted them with tactical experts. It also supplied them with dual-use industrial equipment from Chinese companies. This two-channel supply network enabled the militia to maintain ongoing operations and gain leverage over shipping routes in the Red Sea.

Iran smuggled weapons, including drones and missiles, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, to the Houthis during Yemen’s civil war, in violation of the UN arms embargo. In addition, a report published in May 2026 by Conflict Armament Research (CAR), after the outbreak of the war with Iran, found that while Tehran had previously transferred ready-made weapons to the Houthis, it is now increasingly sending components that its proxies can assemble themselves, while also sharing increasingly advanced missile technologies with them.