DUBAI: Yemen’s Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said the confessions of a Houthi-affiliated cell about smuggling weapons from Iran to the militia in Hodeida confirmed Tehran’s role in arming the group and undermining truce efforts.
His comments came after Yemen’s Joint Forces released a video of Yemeni men, caught as part of a security operation in the west coast, admitting to smuggling weapons from Iran’s Port of Bandar Abbas to a dealer who works for the Houthis in Hodeida. Such operations, they said, were supervised by experts from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
In a Twitter post, Al-Eryani said the confessions about the smuggling operations “confirm Tehran’s continued supply of weapons to (the) militia in flagrant defiance of international law” and illustrate Iran’s role in undermining de-escalation efforts.
1-Confessions of a Houthi cell seized by Joint Forces on West Coast, smuggling weapons fm Bandar Abbas port to Hodeidah under supervision of Revolutionary Guards, confirms Tehran’s continued supply of weapons to militia in flagrant defiance of intl law &SC res on Yemeni crisis.
— معمر الإرياني (@ERYANIM)
He accused Iran of using Houthis to kill Yemeni civilians, cause regional instability and promote terrorism in a way that challenged international interests. He also accused the Islamic state of exploiting the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement to use Hodeida ports in smuggling weapons.
Al-Eryani called on the international community and UN members to explicitly condemn Iran’s “subversive policies and exert real pressure to end its interference in Yemeni affairs.”
Yemen’s army has repeatedly accused the Iran-backed militia of breaching the truce, which was extended for the third time earlier this month, through consistent attacks on soldiers and civilians.
During a meeting with parliament members, President of Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi said the government would not condone targeting of the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen.
