By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-06-26

ADEN -- Cooperation between the Houthis in Yemen and al-Shabaab in Somalia is taking place with apparent Iranian coordination to destabilize security in Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea in service of Iran's agenda, experts said.

US intelligence reveals the Houthis are making efforts to arm al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, in a "worrying development that threatens to further destabilize an already volatile region," three US officials told CNN on June 11.

"Officials are now looking for evidence of such discussions, and are trying to determine whether Iran, which provides military and financial support to the Houthis, is involved in the agreement," the media outlet said.

This is not a natural alliance, as the two groups have ideological differences, it said.

"The intelligence raises the alarming possibility that the relationship between the two groups could make matters worse in Somalia, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where the Houthis have launched regular attacks," the CNN report said.

Iran's objectives

Cooperation between al-Shabaab and the Houthis is not surprising, given that Iranian weapons were reaching the Houthis through the Horn of Africa, and that al-Shabaab had a role in their delivery, said political analyst Fares al-Beel.

There is existing coordination between the Houthis and al-Qaeda, he told Al-Fassel, noting that al-Qaeda leader Saif al-Adel has resided in Iran since 2002 and has an agreement with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Al-Adel sent one son to Yemen, who entered the country with the help of the Houthis and "concluded agreements between al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Houthis," al-Beel said.

Iran seeks to benefit from the cooperation between the Houthis and al-Shabaab to control Bab al-Mandeb from both sides, he added.

Houthis' repositioning

With their decision to serve as a link between Iran and terrorist groups, the Houthis aim to reposition themselves as regional actors instead of merely local ones, said Yemeni Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi.

"The Houthis consider themselves a regional power controlling the Red Sea, specifically from the Bab al-Mandeb side," he told Al-Fassel.

They seek to strengthen their hand "through cooperation with Somali pirates as well as potentially supplying the Somali al-Shabaab movement with weapons," he added.

Al-Majeedi said the Houthis have been facilitating Iran's infiltration of extremist movements in the Horn of Africa, pointing to the group's involvement in arms and drug smuggling networks.

He pointed to the smuggling networks established by Houthi financial facilitator Said al-Jamal, who is present in Iran.

Al-Jamal and his network are under an array of US sanctions.