Iran is sparking violence in northern Yemen through its political and military support of the al-Houthi militants, a Shia offshoot sect within the Zaidi movement.[1] Since 2004, the Iran-backed Shia al-Houthi militants have been fighting against the Yemeni government, but the conflict has now reached a boiling point.[2] On Nov. 15, Yemen's counter-terrorism Chief General Yahya Salih told Al-Jazeera in an interview that “there is no doubt” that Iran is supporting and financing the Houthi proxy war against the government of Yemen.[3] 

The militant group is named after Hussein Al-Houthi, an Al-Haq party representative in the Yemeni parliament from 1993 to 1997, who sought to overtake the government due to its alliance with the United States.[4] The Yemeni government alleges that the militant group seeks to establish an independent Shiite state in northern Yemen.[5]

This conflict consists of sectarian strife between Yemen’s Sunni Muslim majority and its Shia minority.[6] Shia Muslims comprise the majority of Iran’s total population (90-95 percent) and nearly 40 percent of Yemen’s population is Shia.[7]

Yemen has evolved as a hub for al-Qaeda activity in the Gulf and is the birthplace of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s father.[8] In October 2000, al-Qaeda Islamists in Yemen attacked the USS Cole, a U.S. navy ship, killing 17 U.S. servicemen[9]

While this conflict has not been heavily reported in the Western media, the Arab press have been increasingly criticizing Iran’s interference pointing to further disquiet about Iran’s hegemonic ambitions in the region.[10]

Iran Threatening Yemen’s Sovereignty

•The Yemeni Navy seized an Iranian ship on Oct. 26 off of Yemen’s northwestern coast in the Red Sea, carrying anti-tank missiles intended for the Houthi militants.[11] Government sources also revealed that the five Iranian crewmen aboard the ship were weapons experts.[12]

•Iranian Fourth Fleet’s presence in the Gulf of Aden facilitates the Islamic Republic to increase its weapon smuggling operations to terrorist groups and Shia Islamists in Yemen and in Somalia, according to experts in an interview with the Egyptian government weekly Akhbar Al-Yaum. [13] Experts also said that Iran was smuggling weapons to Yemen via Eretria.[14]

•On Oct. 19, the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Salih accused certain Iranian dignitaries of funding the proxy war fought by the Houthi militants and of trying to create a “Shiite zone” along the Yemen-Saudi border; adding that the militants “have been trained in the same manner followed by Hezbollah in south Lebanon."[15]

•Sheikh Abdul Majid al-Zandani, the head of Yemen's Imam University, said "The way events are moving in this country latest indicates to us that Iran wants to export the Shia ideology by force, which we utterly reject."[16]

Gulf Countries Deride Iran’s Proxy War

Iran’s role is arming the northern Yemenite minority is now threatening neighboring Saudi Arabia, forcing the Kingdom’s involvement in the conflict.[17] 

Saudi Arabia imposed a naval blockade in the Red Sea on Nov. 10 to prevent Iran from attempting to ship additional weapons to militants in northern Yemen.[18]

Referencing Saudi Arabia’s involvement, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned "Those who pour oil on the fire must know that they will not be spared from the smoke that billows."[19]

Iran’s proxy war against the government of Yemen, along the border of Saudi Arabia is forcing Arab leaders to speak out. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Oct. 4 "We reject... any kind of rebellion and we reject any foreign interference [in Yemen]. Egypt is wholly supporting - with all its power and capabilities - its sister Yemen."[20]

Hezbollah Aiding Militants: Striking Similarities between Militia Groups in South Lebanon and Yemen

In a March 28 interview with the London daily al-Hayat, Salih said “Lebanese Hezbollah activists are giving wide-scale aid to the Al-Khawthi group in Yemen. They are providing military and logistics training: The Al-Khawthis received training from a number of specialists and entities associated with Hezbollah, in assembling bombs, mines and explosives.”[21]

Head of the Sanaa-based Future Studies Centre Fares al-Sakkaf says that similarities exist between the Huthi militants and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Both are military wings with a political branch.[22]

On Nov. 16, the Shiite militants in Yemen claimed they launched a Katyusha rocket in their attack at on a Saudi military base.[23]

The Katyusha rocket is the primary weapon Iran provides to Hezbollah. The Lebanese-based Iran proxy group is in possession of more than 40,000 Katyusha rockets.[24]

Hezbollah receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. Iran probably provides financial and military assistance worth about $25-50 million. Hezbollah is closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran, but has the capability and willingness to act independently.[25]