Houthis Acknowledge Military Coordination With Iran and Hezbollah
A Houthi official’s acknowledgment of military coordination with Iran and Hezbollah confirms the overlapping roles played on the ground and reveals an armed support network that obstructs de-escalation efforts and fuels regional flashpoints.
Brigadier General Abed Mohammed al-Thawr, an adviser to the Houthi-run Defense Ministry, said that “the militias and Iran form one alliance and one body.”
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Al-Thawr acknowledged that “there is joint coordination and cooperation between us, Iran and Lebanon, represented by Hezbollah.”
“We are part of the axis of resistance, and the battle is under a single command,” he said.
“Each party provides the others with information from which they can benefit,” he continued.
Addressing military cooperation, Al-Thawr added: “We supported Iran, and we will not permit our airspace, territorial waters, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden or the Arabian Sea to be used to strike Iran.”
“We are one alliance and one body. Whatever affects Iran will affect us, and whatever affects us will affect Iran,” he said.
Yemen has witnessed intense fighting since the beginning of the month following a large-scale, multi-front Houthi offensive against areas along the western coast and around Bab el-Mandeb.
According to local reports, the fighting has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries.
Security and media sources have claimed that Iran deployed radar systems on the high ground overlooking the western coast.
The sources also said that the coastline was being used as an entry point for smuggling military equipment from Somalia following field inspections conducted by Iranian experts.
According to the cited sources, the information points to Tehran’s efforts to use its Houthi ally to transform Yemen’s coastline, stretching from Hodeidah to Bab el-Mandeb, into a forward defensive line for its regional influence network.
Meanwhile, the Southern Giants Forces continue to repel attacks by Houthi militias along the borders of Lahj and Taiz governorates.
Intensive strikes have reportedly inflicted dozens of casualties on the Houthi forces.
Military sources said that the Giants Forces, supported by Al-Subaiha tribes, had repelled a ground offensive launched by the Houthis against several positions on the fronts north of the Al-Mudharaba and Ras al-Ara districts in Lahj.
According to the sources, the fighting was concentrated on the Al-Mansoura front in Al-Bukra, the Naman front and the Kahbub fronts.
The militias were reportedly attempting to break through the forward defenses of the Giants Forces and the Al-Subaiha tribes.
In the same context, precision artillery strikes by the Giants Forces pounded Houthi positions on the Al-Mansoura, Naman and Kahbub fronts.
Military aircraft also struck militia positions in the same mountain ranges, which are administratively part of Taiz Governorate.
According to the sources, a series of air strikes targeted Houthi positions at Jabal Dha Wahish, Al-Zaydiyah, Al-Bazilah and Al-Dakhulah.
These locations are part of the Al-Waziya district in Taiz, near the border with the Al-Mudharaba and Ras al-Ara districts in Lahj.
