أسامة سرايا

My article: Iran in Yemen (Are the Houthis an ally of Tehran or its proxy? The distinction matters. Tehran wants to sell the world the idea that the Houthis are a purely Yemeni faction engaged in an internal conflict.) 🇾🇪 🇮🇷 I have no doubt that the Houthi militia is an Iranian proxy. Their strategies cannot be separated. Iran denies this relationship simply it wants the Houthis to be perceived as a Yemeni faction fighting a domestic conflict. It promoted the same narrative about Hezbollah as a Lebanese party seeking to fight Israeli occupation , and many believed it. The latest war proved them wrong. Politically and militarily, the Houthi movement, Ansar Allah, was created by the IRGC. The same applies to Hezbollah in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Historically, this tribal group had neither political ambitions nor military capabilities beyond its home province of Saada. It had no experience managing security agencies, government institutions or even media outlets. Its television channel, Al-Masirah, was established in Beirut’s southern suburbs and is run by Hezbollah. It all began in the 1990s. Iran chose the Houthis for geopolitical reasons. Their home province lies along Saudi Arabia’s southern border. Following the approach it had adopted with Hezbollah, Iran singled out this Yemeni group for support. In 1994, it began sponsoring groups of students drawn exclusively from the Houthis to study in Qom. There, it established ideological and personal ties with them. By the late 1990s, the trained Houthis had adopted rhetoric mirroring Iran’s. They called for fighting Jews and America. They also adopted the concept of a “leader of the revolution,” a role then held by Hussein al-Houthi. After Hussein was killed, his brother Abdulmalik was chosen to lead the movement over his brother-in-law. Abdulmalik had maintained a special relationship with Iran and visited frequently. Iran gradually transformed the Houthis, a minority group, from an armed tribal force in Saada into a militia intended to govern all of Yemen. It took advantage of the unrest that swept the country during the Arab Spring in 2011. A jihad council modeled on Hezbollah’s was established. A deputy and an assistant were appointed from Lebanon. According to a study published at West Point, these advisers coordinated military training and equipment. In 2012, Al-Masirah television launched in Beirut rather than Sana. Iran helped shape the group’s political narrative. It also helped develop legal arguments to present to international bodies and human rights organizations, and facilitated communication with international media. Further significant evidence of the Houthis’ subordination to Iran emerged in 2013. The US Treasury Department identified Khalil Youssef Harb as the man who had overseen Hezbollah’s activities in Yemen. That same year, the ship Jihan was intercepted carrying Iranian weapons. UN officials attempted to deny Tehran’s connection to the shipment. They argued that, although it was bound for Yemen, there was no evidence that the Houthis were its intended final recipients. Yet no Yemeni group other than the Houthis had ties to Iran. Alireza Zakani is an Iranian conservative politician, he bragged that “Sanaa had become the fourth Arab capital” under Iranian revolutionary control, after Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut. The evidence continued to mount. In 2016, Conflict Armament Research reported that it had examined Qasef-1 drones. It found that they matched Iranian drones in design, construction and serial numbers. West Point research established that missiles, explosive-laden boats and other devices in the Houthis’ possession were Iranian. Iran enabled the group to strike distant targets beyond Yemen’s borders. It reinforced the conclusion that the Houthis, like Hezbollah, are an arm of Iran’s Quds Force. Iran’s hand is also clearly visible in the current war in Yemen, particularly 👇🏽