An article at the Counter Extremism Project, “Eyes of the Regime: How the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service Ensures Political Domination in Yemen,” described Marani as a key figure in the Houthi intelligence system. “As early as 2017, Hassan al-Marrani was appointed director of the Intelligence Department in the National Security Bureau. In 2018, al-Marrani was also serving in the ostensibly benign role of director general at the Yemeni Economic Corporation. In this capacity, according to a leaked document, he worked to promote Houthi recruitment by calling ‘for the speedy preparation of lists of the names of employees who are ready to participate in the war and submitting them to administrative affairs for qualification, within three days.’”