By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-31

From the outset of Yemen's civil war, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intended to use the Houthis as a proxy force to upset the balance of power in the region.

The IRGC's intention was rooted in the fact that the militia was based in a strategic location, near Saudi Arabia's southern border and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a gateway for global trade.

The consequences of the IRGC's continued support for the militia have been increasingly dire for Yemen.

The United Nations (UN) estimated that by the start of 2022, the conflict in Yemen had caused over 377,000 deaths, 60% of them as a result of hunger, lack of health care and drinking of unsafe water.

It added that more than 11,000 children are known to have been killed or wounded as a direct result of the fighting.

The UN also estimates that 80% of the population is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Proof of IRGC's support for the Houthis

Ample evidence shows that the Islamic Republic, through the IRGC, continues to support the Houthis -- both financially and militarily.

In the newest report published on the topic on December 22, the Wall Street Journal has quoted Western and regional security officials saying that IRGC forces provide information and arms to the Houthis.

The officials said Iran provides real-time intelligence and weaponry, including drones and missiles, to Yemen's Houthis, which then use them to target ships passing through the Red Sea.

Tracking information gathered by a Red Sea surveillance vessel controlled by the IRGC is given to the Houthis, who have used it to attack commercial vessels passing through the Bab al-Mandeb strait in recent days, they said.

Many vessels sailing in the strait have been switching off their radios to avoid being tracked online, they said, but an Iranian vessel stationed in the Red Sea is enabling the Houthi drones and missiles to accurately target the ships.

Some 40% of international trade, including massive oil and goods shipments, passes through Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

Weapon smuggling

The Iran-backed Houthis have continued to amass a stockpile of weapons, even during a period of relative calm in Yemen, taking advantage of the truce to build up their forces, experts have told Al-Fassel.

The IRGC smuggles weapons to the Houthis in violation of an arms embargo, as the group's presence along the Red Sea serves to advance the Islamic Republic's agenda and expansionist policies, they said.

The Houthis also have engaged in "large-scale violations" of the arms embargo, with the group displaying a variety of weapons in military parades held in al-Hodeidah and Sanaa in September 2022.

Abdul Salam Mohammed, director of the Abaad Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Fassel, "The continued flow of weapons to the Houthis is an Iranian strategy that is more important to it than any relationship or peace agreement is."

Iran's overarching strategy is to ensure that the Houthis remain a force in the southern Arabian Peninsula that is capable of threatening trade corridors and blocking Bab al-Mandeb, he said.

The past seven years have revealed that many of the weapons in the Houthis' possession are Iranian, he noted, as proven by the analysis of the weapons' debris as well as the statements of IRGC commanders themselves.

Red Sea aggression adding to woes

The Houthis' aggression in the Red Sea, something many analysts see directed by Tehran, has worsened Yemen's already dire living conditions, as deteriorating security conditions have created an obstacle for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

On December 5, the UN food agency said it is stopping food distribution in areas of war-torn Yemen controlled by the Houthis, a move that will impact millions of inhabitants.

The World Food Program (WFP) said the "pause" was driven by limited funding and the lack of agreement with Houthi authorities on downscaling the program to match the agency's resources, AP reported.

"This difficult decision, made in consultation with donors, comes after nearly a year of negotiations, during which no agreement was reached to reduce the number of people served from 9.5 million to 6.5 million," WFP said in a statement.

WFP said food stocks in Houthi-controlled areas "are now almost completely depleted and resuming food assistance, even with an immediate agreement, could take up to as long as four months due to the disruption of the supply chain."

Worse yet, less child-focused aid has been flowing to Yemen, adding to the population's hardships.

On October 26, British charity Save the Children announced that it has suspended its operations in northern Yemen after one of its staff members died in detention in Houthi-held Sanaa.