Washington: The United States is increasingly concerned about training by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards for Al Houthi rebels in Yemen. US officials said Tehran’s direct involvement with Al Houthis was limited but that US intelligence assessments had concluded that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel were training and equipping Al Houthi units.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, expressed concern that the IRGC’s mission could include training Al Houthis to use advanced weaponry they acquired after seizing Yemeni military bases.
Saudi Arabia, which launched aerial bombardments of Al Houthi forces this week, has said the militia was receiving extensive backing from Iran, the kingdom’s regional rival.
“We see ... Iran playing a large role in supporting Al Houthis,” Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel Al Jubeir told reporters on Thursday.
“There are Iranian advisers advising them and Hezbollah operatives advising them,” Al Jubeir said. Lebanon-based Hezbollah is closely allied with Tehran.
Asked about Al Jubeir’s accusations on Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters: “We’ve expressed our previous concerns about the destabilizing impact that Iran is having on this particular situation. We continue to have those concerns.” Al Jubeir, in his remarks to reporters, noted that Al Houthis had seized sophisticated weapons, including ballistic missiles.
“It’s no secret,” he said, that the Iranians “are providing assistance and support to Al Houthis, both political as well as militarily, as well as economic.” “The first thing Al Houthis did when they entered and occupied Sana’a was to free Iranian Revolutionary Guards operatives and Hezbollah operatives from the jails,” he said.
