UN Experts: The Rise of Houthis Made Possible with Help from Iran and Hezbollah

UN experts in a recent report have detailed Iran and Hezbollah's efforts to transform Yemen's Houthis from a local armed group into a powerful military organization. According to a confidential report by UN experts, a copy of which has been seen by the news agency, Iran and Hezbollah were responsible for the emergence and rise of the Houthis in Yemen. Reuters reported on Thursday, September 27, that UN experts monitoring sanctions specified in their report that the Yemeni Houthi rebels, with the help of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah of Lebanon, and Iraqi specialists, 'have transformed from a local armed group with limited capabilities into a powerful military organization.' According to the report, these independent experts stated in their annual report to the UN Security Council that Houthi militants have received tactical and technical training outside Yemen and have traveled to Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq using fake passports. Since November of last year, the Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with missile and drone attacks, claiming to support Palestinians in the Gaza war, disrupting global maritime trade by forcing shipping companies to change the routes of these vessels. According to Reuters, the UN experts wrote in their report that the various documents and evidence they obtained 'show that they [the Houthis] do not have the capability to produce complex weapon systems without foreign support.' The report added: 'The scale and variety of military equipment and technology provided to the Houthis from abroad, as well as foreign financial and training support, is unprecedented.' The UN experts further noted that the weapon systems of the Houthis are similar to those produced by Iran or the Islamic Republic's proxy groups, known as the 'Resistance Axis.' According to Reuters, the UN experts expressed concern in their 38-page report, which has hundreds of pages of annexes, about the increasing cooperation between the Houthis and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A day before the publication of this report, the United States announced that Russia was in talks with the Iran-backed Houthis. Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that Russia was conducting these negotiations to ensure the safety of its ships passing through the Red Sea, and the possibility of weapon transfers was also discussed. The Houthis, supported by Iran, have been under a UN arms embargo since 2015. Iran has consistently denied allegations of providing military support to this group.