Four regional and two Iranian sources told journalists that commanders from Lebanon’s Hezbollah organization and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are in Yemen assisting in directing and supervising Houthi attacks on Red Sea commerce.
Following the attack on Israel on October 7 by militants backed by Iran, Hamas, in Gaza, Iran, which has equipped, trained, and funded the Houthis, increased the arms supply to the militia, according to four regional sources.
According to the reports, Tehran has given the Houthis precisely-strike ballistic missiles, medium-range missiles, sophisticated drones, and anti-ship cruise missiles. The Houthis began attacking commercial boats in November as a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
IRGC commanders and advisers are also providing know-how, data and intelligence support to determine which of the dozens of vessels travelling through the Red Sea each day are destined for Israel and constitute Houthi targets, all the sources said.
Washington said last month that Iran was deeply involved in planning operations against shipping in the Red Sea and that its intelligence was critical to enable the Houthis to target ships.
In response to a request for comment for this story, the White House pointed to its previous public comments about how Iran has been supporting the Houthis.
In his weekly news conferences, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has repeatedly denied Tehran is involved in the Red Sea attacks by the Houthis. The IRGC public relations office did not respond to requests for comment.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam denied any Iranian or Hezbollah involvement in helping to direct the Red Sea attacks. A Hezbollah spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
