The Houthis have deployed a bizarre new weapon in their war against Saudi Arabia. It isn't a Qassim missile or a stealth drone. Houthi President Mahdi al-Mashat is weaponizing the name of American financier Jeffrey Epstein to defame the Saudis, according to a report by The New York Times.
The propaganda machine is zeroing in on specific documents from the US Department of Justice. The files allegedly reveal that associates of the Saudi royal court sent tapestries of the Kaaba—Islam's holiest site—to Epstein. Al-Mashat is using this to flip the narrative on the ongoing civil war. "Those who gave Epstein the Kaba's cover are the ones targeting Mecca," he stated in the group's official media. This directly counters Saudi Arabia's accusations from last month that the Houthis targeted Mecca with drones, a charge the rebels firmly deny.
The campaign is far from a single press release. It's a multi-platform blitz. Yemeni comedian Mustafa Al-Momari, who boasts over 2.7 million followers on X, has produced videos mocking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A traditional Yemeni musician composed a song about the tapestry claims. The goal is to portray the Houthis as the true defenders of Islam against foreign, corrupt influence, a message that has grown louder since the reignition of the war this summer.
The strategy is finding unexpected buyers. Right-wing podcaster Jake Shields, a frequent commentator on the Epstein files, has publicly praised the rebels. "I'm a big fan," Shields said of the Houthis. "I think they're kind of badass." Saudi officials have remained silent on the Epstein accusations and the tapestry reports, leaving the Houthis to control this specific narrative thread.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group's top leader, has already framed the Epstein files as a "Zionist incubator" in a February speech. As the Houthis continue to blend traditional insurgency with digital-age disinformation, the diplomatic fallout over Mecca and the broader Yemen conflict is only becoming more tangled. The next move will likely come from Saudi Arabia, which must decide whether to engage with the Epstein narrative or double down on its military and diplomatic pressure.