Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militias are moving to mandate Persian language instruction in schools under their control, replacing English and escalating a broader campaign of influence by the Islamic Republic of Iran across the war-torn country. The proposal has drawn sharp condemnation from Arab governments, education officials, and international observers who warn it signals another stage in efforts by Tehran to culturally reshape key territories through affiliated militias.
The development was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Education in Yemen, formerly linked to the Houthi administration, who cited direct Iranian instructions behind the policy shift. This drive echoes actions in Syria, where Iran leveraged the civil war to establish not only a military presence but a lasting cultural imprint by introducing Persian instruction and Shi’ite curricula into local education systems.
The Houthis seized Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, in 2014 with substantial support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Since then, the group has consolidated authority over large swathes of northern Yemen, frequently leveraging armed force, terror tactics, and indoctrination to secure its grip. The current educational changes fit a wider regional approach by Iran, which backs multiple terror networks—among them Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and Shi’ite militias in Iraq—with the goal of weakening Arab state sovereignty and expanding Iranian hegemony.
Replacing English—widely valued for its economic and scientific prospects—with Persian is a striking break from Yemen’s post-independence tradition. Local experts warn that such a move threatens to isolate Yemeni youth from global opportunities and ties, instead binding them to ideological and material dependencies on Tehran. Regional education advocates assess the policy as a calculated effort to embed the doctrines of the Islamic Republic within the next generation of Yemenis, reinforcing the Houthi alignment with Iran’s anti-Western and anti-Israel agenda.
Iran has officially denied involvement, but widespread evidence points to direct instruction and material support for the policy shift. Houthi officials display portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and IRGC commanders in numerous schools, and regional media have documented correspondences requesting curriculum materials from Iranian religious centers. The United Nations and US intelligence have confirmed a continuing flow of Iranian arms, drones, and advisors into Yemen, facilitating not just military operations but ideological indoctrination.
This model closely follows recent Iranian efforts in Syria, where Persian and Shi’ite-focused curricula have transformed education in regime-held areas, aiming to solidify Iranian presence long after military operations ended. In both countries, the imposition of language policy is used to signal political loyalty, marginalize non-aligned or Sunni Arab identities, and foster durable strategic partnerships anchored in shared ideology.
Sunni Arab governments have denounced the Houthi campaign. Saudi Arabia labeled the language shift “an affront to Yemen’s Arab heritage,” while Egypt’s Al-Azhar University and other institutions have accused the Houthis of undermining national identity at Iran’s behest. Western educational and human rights organizations have warned that politicizing language education reduces future opportunities for Yemen’s children and constitutes a violation of the right to self-determination.
For Israel and its regional partners, the episode is emblematic of the broader challenge posed by the so-called “axis of resistance”—a network of Iranian-backed armed groups waging war by terror, subversion, and cultural intervention. Israeli defense authorities have repeatedly warned that the Houthis—already responsible for long-range missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli territory and Red Sea shipping—are not merely a local insurgency but a pillar of Iran’s strategy to threaten Israel from multiple fronts and destabilize the region.
The Houthis’ education policy demonstrates Iran’s intent to wield not just weapons, but ideology as a tool of war. The attempted replacement of English with Persian is viewed by analysts as both a means of consolidating Houthi control and a sign of Tehran’s deep and persistent influence—one that threatens to reshape regional identities with consequences extending far beyond Yemen’s borders.
As Yemen remains a critical theater in the broader war on Iranian-backed terrorism, the struggle over education signals how the conflict is fought not only with missiles and militias, but through the minds of the next generation. Israel and its allies view the development as confirmation of the need to resist not just terror attacks, but systemic efforts to subvert national cultures and alliances across the Middle East.
