He mentioned a confidential report The Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthis) group has evolved “from a local armed group with limited capabilities into a powerful military organization” with the support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi specialists, according to a report published by Reuters.
The Independent Committee of Experts – which submits an annual report to the UN Security Council – said that Houthi elements were receiving tactical and technical training outside Yemen while traveling on fake passports to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, according to the agency’s report.
Over the past year, the Houthis launched repeated attacks with drones and missiles on ships in the important shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians in the face of the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for nearly a year on the Gaza Strip, which greatly disrupted the movement of global maritime trade, as many shipping companies were forced to divert. Her ships.
“The numerous testimonies collected by the committee from military experts, Yemeni officials, and even from individuals close to the Houthis indicate that they do not have the ability to develop and produce without foreign support and complex weapons systems,” the United Nations experts wrote in their latest report, which Reuters reviewed.
Shift in capabilities
They added, “The scope, nature and extent of transfers of various military equipment and technology provided to the Houthis from external sources, including financial support and training of their fighters, are unprecedented.”
Sanctions observers said that the weapons systems used by the Houthis are similar to those produced and used by Iran or armed groups in the “axis of resistance” supported by Tehran and opposed to the influence of Israel and the United States in the Middle East.
The experts stated in their report submitted to the Yemen Sanctions Committee of the 15-member Security Council, “This transformation (in capabilities) was possible due to the equipment, aid, and training that the Houthis obtained from the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah, and Iraqi specialists and technicians.”
The Houthis have been subject to a de facto UN arms embargo since 2015, and Tehran has consistently denied supplying the group with weapons.
The Houthis have not yet responded to a request to comment on the United Nations report, and the Iranian mission to the United Nations has not yet responded to a request to comment on the report monitoring the implementation of international organization sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations yesterday, Wednesday, before the Security Council meeting, that his country supports Hezbollah and will not remain idle if Lebanon’s conflict with Israel escalates.
A few days ago, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi group, said that his group possesses an advanced military arsenal that many countries do not possess.
Al-Houthi added, in a speech broadcast on Al-Masirah TV on Saturday, that Yemen has become at an advanced level in terms of unmanned aviation, naval power, formation and development of the ground force, and production of its requirements, indicating that the missile force is the title of this advanced, effective and important construction, as he put it.
He continued that Yemen’s missile force is a striking military arm for the benefit of the Yemeni people in confronting their enemies and the enemies of the nation, stressing that Yemeni military capabilities have now reached a “great level.”
Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi spoke about the launch of a “hypersonic” missile last week towards Tel Aviv, and described the operation as major, influential and “shattering to the enemy”, vowing to carry out other operations.
Since late last year, the Houthis have been targeting ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, and in an attempt to stop their attacks, the United States formed a military coalition whose mission is to limit the military capabilities of the Yemeni group.