Yemen’s internationally recognised government has leveled accusations against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, claiming they have deployed 21 military specialists to support the Houthis’ operational capabilities. According to a statement from Yemen’s Interior Minister Major-General Ibrahim Haidan, 14 of these experts are from the IRGC while seven are from Hezbollah, with their deployment distributed across multiple locations including Hodeidah, Sanaa, Saada, Hajjah, Amran and Khokha.
The stated expertise of these deployed personnel encompasses command and control systems, ballistic missile and drone technology, electronic warfare, military component smuggling, naval operations coordination, and the development of explosive-laden boats and autonomous submarines. The government spokesperson characterised this level of involvement as representing an escalation beyond traditional support mechanisms, claiming foreign involvement has progressed from financing and training to encompass direct supervision and participation in military planning and operations development.
Haidan warned that these activities pose threats to maritime shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea, and expressed concern about potential transfer of military knowledge to other armed groups. The statement called for international action, including designating the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, dismantling their financing and arms networks, and enforcing existing UN Security Council arms embargoes.
The accusations emerge amid renewed military clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthis across five provinces, following the group’s seizure of the western Red Sea coast and Bab al-Mandeb region in September. The fighting has disrupted a relative ceasefire that had prevailed since 2022, ending a period of reduced violence following Yemen’s prolonged civil conflict that originated in 2014 and intensified with Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in 2015. Iran has consistently denied direct control over the Houthis, characterising them as independent actors, while Hezbollah has previously dismissed suggestions of operational involvement in Yemen’s conflict.
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