Who are the Houthis in Yemen and why did they wait weeks after the war between Israel, Iran, and the US started in order to get involved?

How did they originate? Where did they come from? What do they want? Are they really just a proxy that does whatever Iran tells them to? Or are they an organization that has their own objectives and are only allied with Iran when it also suits their own purpose?

I'm Jasmine El-Gamal, and this is the View From Here, where every week we take you behind the headlines and into the lives of the people living them.

This week, Jasmine spoke to Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni analyst who has lived with the Houthis, negotiated with them and has spent years trying to figure out exactly what makes them tick. They talked about the recent history of Yemen, how the Houthis evolved into the organization that they are right now, what they really want out of their relationships with Iran, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, how they feel about Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel and so much more.