By Nohad Topalian | 2024-02-03

BEIRUT -- Lebanese Hizbullah is involved in the attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea via its joint operations room with the Houthis and the missile experts it has sent to Yemen to supervise launches, various sources said.

Officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese Hizbullah are on the ground in Yemen to help direct and supervise the Houthis' attacks on navigation in the Red Sea, Reuters reported January 20.

According to four regional and two Iranian sources, Iran stepped up its arms supplies to the Houthis since October, the media outlet said.

The sources said Iran provided advanced drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, precision ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles to the Houthis, who immediately began targeting merchant vessels in the Red Sea.

Iran is also using the spy ship Behshad to provide the Houthis with intelligence on shipping traffic, enabling the militant group to target commercial vessels, a military source in Yemen told Al-Fassel.

The United States in December accused Iran of being heavily involved in planning attacks in the Red Sea, and said the tactical intelligence it provides has been critical in enabling the Houthis' targeting of ships.

The Houthis hijacked the Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader, operated by Japanese firm Nippon Yusen, in the Red Sea on November 19 as it travelled from Türkiye to India.

They rerouted the vehicle carrier to the Yemeni port of al-Hodeidah along with its crew, who are still being held hostage.

In a clear sign that Iran is pulling the strings of its regional proxies, a video posted online by Iran's Mehr News shows the Houthis raising a picture of the late IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani aboard the Galaxy Leader.

Joint operations center in Beirut

Hizbullah "is actively involved in the conflict in Yemen and the strikes carried out by the Houthis against ships in the Red Sea," Lebanese military expert Brig. Gen. (ret.) Maroun Hitti told Al-Fassel.

While it remains unclear the degree of Hizbullah's involvement, the Iran-backed Lebanese party, the Houthis and Iran-aligned militias in Iraq clearly are instruments of the IRGC and the Iranian regime, he said.

They are "obedient tools under the command of the IRGC," Hitti added, noting that Hizbullah "has a joint operations center in the southern suburb of Beirut, and the Houthis are a part of it."

It seems likely that this joint operations room directs a large portion of the Houthis' operations in the Red Sea remotely, he said.

This is entirely plausible, Hitti added, "as Hizbullah hosts the Houthis in Beirut's southern suburb and has established training centers for them."

It also provides the Houthis with "technical, field and intelligence support, while Iran supplies them with weapons," Hitti noted.

"It is possible that these [Hizbullah] elements are operating those missiles in the Red Sea, in addition to sending experts to Sanaa," he said.

"The course of events points to the presence of Hizbullah, on Iranian orders, in the Red Sea to organize the Houthis' subversive actions, since Hizbullah and the Houthis operate under the command of the IRGC," he said.

Everything Hizbullah does for the benefit of Iran "embroils and exposes Lebanon more and more to the risk of war waged against it," Hitti said, adding that Hizbullah "does not care about the consequences" of its actions for Lebanon.

Hizbullah's claims that it cares about Lebanon's interests "is merely media talk for camouflage and deception," Hitti said, pointing to its overriding allegiance to Iran via the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist).

This calls for allegiance to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

Obstructing maritime navigation

Hizbullah is making visits to the Houthis in Sanaa, military expert and retired Lebanese military officer Khalil al-Helou told Al-Fassel.

"Before the current war, the Houthis received assistance and technical training from Hizbullah on how to manufacture missiles," he said.

The "unity of arenas" Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has always spoken about "is already being implemented under the supervision of the IRGC," he said.

Based on the "unity of arenas" precept, al-Helou said, "Iran provides the Houthis with missiles that they launch at ships in the Red Sea, while Hizbullah assumes the role of trainer and coordinator of these attacks through a joint operations room."

Southerners for Freedom coordinator and Shia opposition figure Hussein Ataya pointed to the presence of Hizbullah trainers and advisors alongside the Houthis.

He also noted the Houthis' September 2014 coup and usurpation of power in parts of Yemen, and the group's attacks and interception of ships in the Red Sea.

These "would not have been possible without the tremendous support they receive from Iran, the IRGC and Hizbullah," he told Al-Fassel.

The Houthis' allies "continue to provide them with military equipment ranging from ammunition for light weapons to long-range missiles and drones," and with training in camps in Iran, he added.

"As for Hizbullah, it registers its presence alongside the Houthis through trainers and advisors who are high-level security and military field commanders," he said.

They have been providing the Houthis with training on the launch and control of missiles and drones since the Yemen conflict began, Ataya said.

"Hizbullah also plays an intelligence role alongside the IRGC," he said, as it provides the Houthis with intelligence information that enables them to target commercial ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandeb.

The Iran-backed party's involvement in the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea "adversely affects Lebanon as a state and people, and thrusts Lebanon and its people into crises and wars," he warned.