WASHINGTON: Yemeni government troops and Houthi rebels have been engaged in fierce battles in and around a coastal town seen as a major smuggling point for arms used to supply rebels. In recent days, both sides have won and lost territory near the port of Mokha in what analysts and Yemen officials see as a make-or-break fight to sever a rebel supply line. Saudi and U.S.-backed government forces are convinced that Houthis rely on Iranian smuggled arms coming through maritime ports along the western shores of Yemen. “By taking Mokha, we deprive Houthis from the source where 40 to 50 percent of their smuggled arms are coming from,” Ahmed Saif Al Yafei, a Yemeni army commander, told VOA.
The Trump administration, which is taking a hard line against Iran, is keen on stopping the flow of weapons from Iranian ships to Houthi rebels. The White House sees the Iranian supply line as supporting terrorism. The New York Times reported last week that U.S. national security officials considered sending U.S. vessels to intercept an Iranian military ship in the Arabian Sea that they suspected of carrying an arms shipment. They backed off because of operational concerns, the newspaper said, at least for the time being. “We are concerned about all of the weapons that are smuggled in,” Michael Meyer, a U.S Central Command spokesman, wrote in an email to VOA. “Iran is supplying the Houthis with lethal aid — including advanced countermaritime capability — in contravention of U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday met on Yemen with counterparts from Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman at a foreign ministers summit in Germany. Iranian officials say they are not involved in supplying weapons to Houthis — despite credible evidence, Yemeni and U.S. officials say, that in recent months Iran has been violating a U.N. embargo prohibiting the transfer of arms to Houthis. Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council secretary, said in early February that Houthis receive missiles and ammunition from Russia. Tehran’s support to Houthis, he said, is limited to spiritual guidance and sympathy.
