Senior Houthi delegation visits Lebanon, Iraq and Iran

A high-ranking delegation from Yemen’s Houthi rebels is reported to have recently visited Lebanon, Iraq and Iran.

French Intelligence Online reported that a senior Houthi delegation led by spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam visited the headquarters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia in Dahiya in southern Beirut on 18 August.

The delegation was accompanied by two members of Hezbollah’spolitical bureau Abdul Malik Al-Ajri and Ibrahim Al-Dulaimi.

This is not the first time a Houthi delegation has met with Hezbollah officials in Beirut, but this is the first time the visit was announced.

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The Houthi delegation is believed to have visited the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Najaf loyal to Iraq’s Shia leader, Moqtada Al-Sadr, whom Saudi Arabia has been working with to gain his support for months now without any success.

According to the site, the Houthi delegation’s last stop was the Iranian capital of Tehran, where it arrived on 2 September.

Yemen’s Houthis are seeking to gain more support during their fierce battles with the Saudi-led coalition, especially in the strategic port of Hodeida.

Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly denied the group’s involvement in the conflict in Yemen.