By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-06-14

ADEN -- Portraits of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders dominate the Sanaa streets, angering Yemenis who view them as an assault on national identity orchestrated by the Houthis.

Since its coup of September 2014, the Iran-backed group has transformed Sanaa and surrounding provinces under its control into an open arena for Iranian propaganda, local residents said.

The prominent posters of Iranian leaders and commanders, along with Iranian religious and political symbols, are understood to be a systematic attempt to impose sectarian hegemony at the expense of Yemeni culture.

"I don't show interest or pay attention to these slogans," public sector worker Abdo Hammadi told Al-Fassel, noting that "many citizens respond to them with curses."

The displays are a "blatant attempt to detach Sanaa from its Arab and Yemeni roots" in favor of the Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) doctrine, which calls for allegiance to Khamenei, political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher said.

Iranian slogans and portraits of Khamenei and the late IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani can be seen in the streets and in government offices, al-Taher said.

These displays confirm the Houthis are working "to obliterate the Yemeni national identity for the benefit of a foreign project," he added.

The omnipresent Iranian imagery seeks to create "loyalties that cross the Yemeni borders," according to Deputy Justice Minister Faisal al-Majeedi.

But "Sanaa is now resisting an ideological and political occupation, and Yemenis are aware of these attempts," he said.

Tool of the IRGC

While Iranian portraits dominate public spaces, Houthi leaders have enriched themselves through corruption and illicit activities, said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the human rights office in Sanaa.

"The corruption of the Houthi leaders is evident in the obscene and sudden wealth of their families, through real estate, companies, and the purchase of gold and jewelry, while the people live in abject poverty," he told Al-Fassel.

The militia has plundered humanitarian aid, imposed illegal taxes under the guise of "war effort" contributions, and transformed state institutions into vehicles for stealing public funds, al-Zubairi said.

"The Houthis do not represent the national will, but rather implement Iranian expansionist projects at the expense of Yemen's sovereignty and stability," he said.

The group serves as a mere "tool in the hands of the IRGC, used to implement regional agendas" while dismantling Yemeni society and turning it into "an arena for sectarian conflict," he added.

Despite the systematic campaign to impose foreign ideology, "Sanaa will remain Yemeni in the spirit of its people and their living memory, no matter how hard the terrorist Houthi militia tries to distort reality," al-Zubairi said.