Iranian arms, Houthis' attacks stall Yemen's recovery

ADEN -- Iranian weapons and explosives smuggled into Yemen and sporadic attacks on Yemen's ports carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis have made conditions worse for civilians in the war-torn country, Yemeni officials said.

Since the Houthis blocked the renewal of a truce brokered by the United Nations (UN) on October 2, conditions in Yemen began to worsen again, after improving while the ceasefire was in effect, they said.

The truce failure "threatens to thrust the country back into war, subjecting millions of civilians once again to the conflict's indiscriminate brutality", the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US think-tank, said in a Monday (December 19) report.

It noted that the resumption of fuel imports under the terms of the truce had "helped ensure stable access to essential clean water, healthcare, electricity and transportation services".

On October 21 and November 9, the Houthis launched attacks on the oil export ports in Hadramaut and Shabwa, with the aim of disrupting oil exports.

On November 21, US Ambassador to Yemen Steven Fagin noted that the Houthis' recent attacks on Yemeni ports and oil terminals would harm only the Yemeni people by worsening fuel shortages.

"The Houthi attacks on al-Dhaba port in Hadramaut and Qena port in Shabwa aimed at disrupting oil exports are acts of terrorism," Deputy Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Nabil Abdul Hafeez told Al-Mashareq.

The attacks are an "absurd escalation in light of the many concessions the government has made to facilitate the renewal of the truce and establishment of peace", he said.

The attacks were carried out at a time when the UN and US envoys to Yemen were actively striving to renew the truce, he noted.

"The Houthis, with their terrorist attacks on the ports, have in actual fact hindered the arrival of aid and food and diminished the state's resources, which depend on Yemeni oil exports," he said.

Arms smugglers intercepted

The Houthis have meanwhile continued to take delivery of Iranian arms and explosives, as evidenced by the seizure of weapon shipments at sea.

On December 1, the US Navy intercepted a fishing trawler in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen that was found to be smuggling more than 50 tonnes of ammunition, fuses and propellants for rockets.

The cargo was discovered "during a flag verification boarding", the Bahrain-based US 5th Fleet said in a statement, noting it was the "second major illegal weapons seizure within a month" along the route.

"This significant interdiction clearly shows that Iran's unlawful transfer of lethal aid and destabilising behaviour continues," Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said.

In mid-November, the US Navy announced it had sunk a vessel transporting "explosive materials" from Iran to supply the Houthis in Yemen, with enough power to fuel a dozen ballistic missiles.

The boat, intercepted November 8 in the Gulf of Oman as it transited from Iran along a route used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, was sunk after it was determined to be a hazard to navigation for commercial shipping.

"Despite the human suffering the Yemeni people are experiencing because of Iran and its Houthi cronies, Iran continues to smuggle weapons and dangerous materials into Yemen," Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi said.

The Houthis are preventing Yemen from exporting oil to raise cash for the import of food, he told Al-Mashareq, "and this is a crime against all the Yemeni people".

Al-Majeedi said the operations to seize weapons and other items smuggled from Iran to Yemen aim to "downgrade the power of the Houthis and thus alleviate the burden on Yemenis".

The thwarting of smuggled arms shipments comes in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which prohibits the supply of arms to Yemen.

A critical moment for Yemen

On December 6, US envoy to Yemen Timothy Lenderking called for increased participation in and support for the peace process in Yemen.

"We are in a critical moment," he said. "We must preserve the positive momentum and gains made since April." He said Yemen has "a unique opportunity for peace", warning however that the situation remains fragile.

Political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher said the Houthis' mission in the Red Sea is to "implement the Iranian agenda and raise the cost of peace at sea and in the Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz straits".

Iran continues "to smuggle weapons and prohibited materials to implement its subversive agenda in Yemen and the rest of the countries in the region", he said.

Al-Taher said the operations to seize smuggled weapons are integrated with diplomatic efforts to help Yemen prevent arms smuggling, alleviate humanitarian suffering and facilitate the delivery of food and relief aid.

The Houthis' threats to launch attacks on maritime navigation are "an Iranian-Houthi escalation that complicates the humanitarian crisis and threatens the stability of Yemen", said political analyst Faisal Ahmed.

This also threatens countries in the region and international trade, he said.

These threats are in line with Iran's agenda, he said, as military leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have spoken of "maritime jihad", which refers to "control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait and international shipping lanes in the Red Sea".

Ahmed pointed to the presence of the Iranian spy ship Behshad in the Red Sea, which serves as an operations room for the conduct of military operations in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden.