Report: Houthis Received Training in Iran under the Supervision of the Revolutionary Guard
After Iran repeatedly denied allegations of involvement in planning attacks carried out by Houthi militants on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Wednesday that Houthi rebels received training in an Iranian naval academy under the supervision of the Revolutionary Guard.
The British newspaper’s report stated that around 200 members of the group, which controls large areas of Yemen, received training in Iran at the Khamenei Maritime Sciences and Technology Academy in the coastal area of Zibakenar, according to defense sources.
The report clarified that details of the training, gathered by intelligence sources in Iran, “reveal Tehran’s direct involvement in expanding the conflict in the Middle East,” according to Alhurra’s website.
A special training course was dedicated to foreign fighters, including elements affiliated with the Houthi group, lasting about six months under the command of the Quds Force, which is part of the Revolutionary Guard, according to the newspaper.
The mentioned academy was established in 2013 on the coast of the Caspian Sea, and within four years, all naval training for the Revolutionary Guard, including the training of Iranian agents, was transferred there, according to the same source.
The first training course for Houthi rebels in maritime sciences and technology began in January 2020, indicating that the Houthis were accommodated separately from other students, who were prevented from interacting with them to prevent the leakage of intelligence information.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have intensified their attacks in the Red Sea against the backdrop of the war between Israel and the Hamas movement that began on October 7.
The Houthis target commercial ships suspected of being linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, stating that they carry out these attacks in solidarity with Gaza.
These attacks threaten navigation in the waterway through which approximately 12% of global trade is transported.
The report also mentioned that Faroor Island, a small uninhabited island in the middle of the Persian Gulf controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy, was used for “training Iranian mercenaries.”
It is worth mentioning that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said last December that “the resistance (Houthi group) possesses the tools of its strength and acts based on its decisions and capabilities” in response to White House accusations that Tehran is “significantly involved” in planning operations and that it has crucial intelligence information to assist the Houthi group in targeting ships.
Iran supports the Houthis but officially denies arming the group, which seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa after overthrowing the government and now dominates large areas of the country.
