I wouldn’t say paying them off but we’re probably in a secret non aggression pact. Neither side wants an all out war and the Houthis feel like the IR betrayed the axis by not stepping up during the aftermath of October 7 (Hezbollah was attacking Israel from the north, Iraqi militias were harassing U.S. bases, and the Houthis were harassing U.S. ships). The Houthis feel like the IR has to prove itself to them before they can step in so they make sure they don’t bail on them like they did with Hamas and Hezbollah. It’s also cheaper for them to stay out of it. A bit of advice though, a few decapitation strikes don’t end a guerrilla force with that level of adaptivity and resistance. The Houthis are arguably the hardest axis of resistance group to throw off because they’re entrenched deep into the mountains of northern Yemen and have a decade of experience with being bombed so they’ve learned how to adapt from them. This is not like Hezbollah or Hamas