"Wall Street Journal": Advanced Iranian support has strengthened the capabilities of the Houthis in Yemen

Tehran - Ofoq News - Iran provides advanced intelligence and military support to the Houthis in Yemen, which includes identifying targets for missile and drone attacks, training fighters and providing field guidance.

According to a report by the American Wall Street Journal, this support helped the Houthis carry out attacks against the Yemeni government forces and the coalition.

The newspaper quoted its sources as saying that Iranian assistance contributed to the Houthis achieving rapid field gains, enabling them to control the Yemeni coast overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

This progress coincided with an escalation of attacks on oil tankers, vital installations, and Saudi airports, including a strike that targeted Riyadh last weekend, killing 13 people.

The newspaper explained that the level of coordination between Tehran and the Houthis reflects Iran's ability to use its relations with armed groups in the region to increase pressure on the United States, at a time when the administration of US President Donald Trump seeks to end the war against Iran on terms favorable to Washington.

Danny Citrinovic, former head of the Iran department in Israeli military intelligence, said that the relationship between the two parties is very strong at the operational level, noting that Tehran sees the success of the Houthis as a way to harm Saudi Arabia and push oil prices to rise.

He added that the relationship is not based on the Houthis being subordinate to Iran, but rather on strategic cooperation based on common interests.

The roots of Iranian support for the Houthis go back to the years of the Yemeni war, after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and seized weapons and missiles that were in the possession of government forces.

The newspaper reported that Iran later sent arms shipments via conventional boats, along with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese Hezbollah to train the Houthis on assembling and using missiles and drones.