US confirms: Iran is arming Yemen’s Houthis

Commander of the US Navy in the Gulf revealed that Iran is continuing to arm the Houthi armed group in Yemen, Al-Arabiya reported yesterday.

Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan made clear that Iran is sending the Houthis sophisticated weaponry. Among the weapons are ballistic missiles, anti-ship weapons, mines and explosive boats which have been used in the Red Sea.

Donegan’s US Navy fleet is stationed off the Arabian Peninsula to help stop arms shipments to the Houthis which regularly attack coalition ships.

The United States is already engaged in Yemen, executing drone strikes and special operation raids against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The US has not officially included military objectives against the Iranian-backed Houthi armed group.

Read:Saudi Arabia asked us for help with Houthis says Iran

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen civil war in March 2015 to prevent the Houthis from taking over the country and to support President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s governance. The Houthis took over effective control of the capital, Sana’a, in 2014.

The Houthi armed group pose a severe threat to Saudi Arabia with the possession of increasingly sophisticated ballistic missiles. Last week, Houthi leader Abdul Malek Al-Houthi threatened to use ballistic missiles against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.