Iran Focus
London, 26 July – The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked a Saudi oil tanker that was sailing off the Yemen Coast, according to the Western-backed Arab coalition.
The US-backed Saudi-led collation to restore the legitimate government in Yemen confirmed on Wednesday that the Iran-aligned Houthis hit a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, inflicting slight damage on the ship, after the Houthis reported that they had targeted a Saudi warship in the area.
The coalition’s statement, which was released through the Saudi press, read: “The Saudi oil tanker was subjected to slight damage due to the attack by the Houthi militia.”
It did not name the vessel or the mode of attack, but did clarify that the alliance had foiled previous attacks in the Red Sea in April and May.
The Houthis, on the other hand, had their official television station, Al Masirah TV, tweet that they had targeted a warship called Dammam off the western coast of Yemen.
Involvement in Yemen
Iran and its proxy Houthi militia have been fighting the Arab alliance for control in Yemen since 2014, following the Houthis takeover of much of North Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, which forced the internationally recognised government to flee.
The Arab coalition’s main justification for involving itself in the conflict was to protect shipping routes from the Middle East to Europe, whereas Iran’s main justification seems to be the export of chaos throughout the region.
Iran has a policy of supporting terrorist factions throughout the Middle East to destabilise other countries and allow the mullahs to take control, either through propping up the government, as they have in Iraq and Syria, or through a proxy group, like in Yemen and Lebanon.
It’s also important to note that Iran has been supplying the Houthis with weapons, troops, and money, something uncovered by numerous different countries who have intercepted shipments from Iran to the Houthis.
Some of these weapons include ballistic missiles, which are shipped in many separate parts and then reassembled in Yemen. These missiles are then fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia, likely on the orders of Iran.
The US, UN, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian Resistance have all cited that these weapons were manufactured in Iran with the intent of attacking Saudi civilians.
Luckily, all of these missiles have been discovered by Saudi air defence systems and destroyed before hitting their targets, but it does not alter the destructive nature of the Iranian Mullahs.
