The Magnitude of Iranian Role in Supporting Attacks on Shipping Lanes Off Yemen

The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group has confessed that Iran has provided support for the Houthis to target shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This is the first time Houthis have admitted the key Iranian role in their military operations.

While Iranian officials have repeatedly denied being involved in the Houthi attacks on military and commercial ships in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden, a Houthi senior official confirmed yesterday that the Iranian support was vital.

In a broadcast interview, Abdulmalek Al-Ajri, a senior Houthi negotiator and member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, said, "There is joint coordination at all levels and in military operations with the Palestinian resistance, Hezbollah, and the Iranians, as this is the axis of support."

Al-Ajri praised the Iranian role, saying, "The good thing about Iran is that it provides support without conditions." Though the Houthi leader acknowledged the importance of the Iranian backing, he said his group was the decision-maker when it came to launching attacks on ships in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has killed over 30000 people since October last year.

On January 28, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea.

The vessel contained over 200 packages that contained medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said, "This is yet another example of Iran's malign activity in the region. Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce."

In December, "We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea," U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.

Military sources told Sheba Intelligence last month that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has lost dozens of its experts in Yemen since the start of the U.S.-UK strikes on Houthi missile and drone launch centers.

The sources estimated that about fifty Iranian experts were targeted out of 150 experts who manage the operations rooms for launching and deploying ballistic missiles, drones, booby-trapped boats, and sea mines in several areas, especially in Al-Hudaydah, Saada, and Sanaa.

Informed sources told Sheba Intelligence in December that the Houthi group began training special forces in a camp 15 km from Al-Hudaydah port to carry out attacks in the Red Sea under the supervision of Iranian experts and senior leaders in the Houthi naval forces.