Shahlai Oversees Houthi Consolidation Near Bab al-Mandab from New IRGC Base
Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Abdul Reza Shahlai is overseeing military and security arrangements from Al-Khokha to consolidate Houthi positions along Yemen’s western coast, alongside a plan to infiltrate opposing forces and exploit regional divisions to facilitate an advance toward Ras al-Arah, an intelligence source told Sheba Intelligence.
According to the source, Shahlai is based at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters newly established in Al-Khokha after the Houthis seized Hays, Al-Khokha and Mokha. He also visited the coalition forces’ headquarters in Mokha following the Houthi takeover of the city.
The source said the IRGC had approved a plan to penetrate military formations fighting the Houthis, particularly the Giants Brigades, Nation’s Shield forces, the Yemeni army and resistance forces, while fuelling regional rivalries within and between those formations.
The objective, according to the source, is to weaken their cohesion while stabilising Houthi positions and front lines, creating conditions for a push toward Ras al-Arah in Lahj governorate to reinforce the group’s hold around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The arrangements come as Sheba Intelligence’s latest reporting points to government advances near Al-Omari Camp and Dhubab, potentially heightening IRGC concerns that Houthi gains around Bab al-Mandab could be reversed. Government control of the camp has not been confirmed.
From Military Preparations to Consolidating Gains
Earlier Sheba Intelligence reporting linked Shahlai to preparations for the latest escalation. An August 1 report described a meeting with Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in Saada. On August 20, intelligence sources said Shahlai had toured several fronts and met senior Houthi commanders to discuss a Tehran-backed plan focused on Marib’s oil resources and an offensive through Mokha toward Bab al-Mandab. Iranian experts were subsequently dispatched to assess government defences, according to those sources..
Efforts to undermine opposing forces also predated the coastal offensive. On August 24, Sheba Intelligence reported Houthi instructions to recruit sources inside government units for advance information on military plans and troop movements, although that report did not attribute the instructions personally to Shahlai.
Following the reported capture of Dhubab and Mayun Island, which lies within Bab al-Mandab, a September 11 report described an IRGC-supervised plan to advance toward the Al-Arah coast. It included a psychological campaign using rumours, accusations of betrayal and regional grievances to encourage retreating fighters to return or cooperate with the Houthis..
The latest account suggests an effort to turn coastal gains into a more durable military presence while undermining the cohesion of forces preparing a counteroffensive. Shahlai’s reported whereabouts and the details of the new plan could not be independently verified.
