Iranian interference in Yemen 'one link' in chain of regional intervention

Iranian interference in Yemeni affairs is just one link in a chain of regional intervention that undermines stability and tightens the grip of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), political analysts said.

In Yemen and other countries, Iran has sought to consolidate and reinforce affiliated militias, such as the Houthis (Ansarallah) and Lebanon's Hizbullah.

The Yemeni government and the Arab coalition have "many reservations" about Iran's intervention in Yemen and the military and logistical support it provides to the Houthis, said Yemeni media analyst Mutahar Mohammed al-Raydah.

Longstanding connections to Iran

Iranian support for the Houthis is no secret, he said, as IRGC officers have been arrested in Yemen while carrying out covert missions for Iran, and weapons headed for the Houthis have been seized in the Red Sea.

"This was publicised in the media, and also by international organisations that were witness to that," he said.

Iranian support for the Houthis also is not new, he added, noting that the militia's political and military cadres have been conducting "student missions to Iran" to receive training from the IRGC since 2004.

After the Houthis seized Sanaa during the coup of September 2014, "the Iranian presence in Yemen became official", al-Raydah said.

Daily flights from Tehran to Sanaa airport brought Iranian experts and weapons into Yemen, while Houthi commanders were transported to Tehran and Lebanon to receive training from the IRGC and Hizbullah, he said.

"Iranian experts until today continue to direct field battles, logistical planning and training" and the Houthis' political decision-making processes, he said, noting that missiles fired at Saudi Arabia have been shown to be Iranian-made.

Exporting the Islamic Revolution

"Arab countries have been vexed by Iranian interference in their affairs since the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in Iran," Lebanese journalist and political analyst Tony Abi Najm told Al-Mashareq.

In essence, this is because the Islamic Revolution "is predicated on the principle of exporting the revolution to Arab countries to destabilise them", he said.

"What has been happening in Yemen for years falls within this context, wherein the IRGC and Hizbullah help the Houthis mount an all-out coup to put Yemen in Iran’s orbit and make it a part of the Islamic Republic," he said.

"The Lebanese people were the first to pay the price a few years after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, because Lebanon was fertile ground in the wake of the civil war," Najm said.

"The IRGC established Hizbullah in Lebanon, and since then has been working to undermine the Lebanese state to seize control of it," he said.

Hizbullah "has become a branch of the IRGC in the region and fights on its behalf in Syria and Iraq, conducts training in Yemen, incites [strife] in Bahrain and forms [militant] cells in more than one country", Najm said.

The IRGC has boasted "it now controls four Arab capitals", he said, adding that if "the Iranian project continues to expand, it will [eventually] threaten the security of all Arab countries".

Arab Coalition support for Yemen

"The Arab coalition, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has directly supported the legitimate Yemeni army by improving its fighting capabilities," Col. Rashid Mohammed al-Marri of the UAE told Al-Mashareq.

This is intended "to get the army ready to take on the obstacles that stand in the way of restoring the legitimate government and calm to Yemen", he said.

This support was necessary to counter the Houthis’ expansion and also to curb the proliferation of al-Qaeda, he added.

"The UAE’s support is not limited to the military aspect, but also extends to providing humanitarian aid, food and medical supplies to the Yemeni people to help them stand steadfast in this war," al-Marri said.

Containing the Houthis "would have a positive impact on the entire region", he said.

Breaking a link in the chain

"The Houthis are acting at the direct instructions of the IRGC, within a comprehensive plan that encompasses the Middle East," al-Marri said.

"Thus, the elimination of any of the links of the chain would break that chain and re-shuffle the cards," he added.

Yemen is of strategic importance at the regional and international levels, he noted, due to its location along an international trade corridor "that is indispensable and cannot be left under threat from Iran".

The UAE's support of Yemeni forces "has contributed to restoring calm, albeit to a relative extent, in the provinces of Saadah, al-Hodeida and Shabwa", he said.

Joint operations are ongoing in Saadah as a prelude to clearing Sanaa and the northern provinces of the Houthis, he said, and against al-Qaeda in Wadi Yashbum in Shabwa province and Wadi al-Masini in Hadramaut province.