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Iran Regime’s Malign Influence in Yemen

 

NCRI Staff

NCRI – In March 2015, the civil war in Yemen started after Houthi rebels seized Sana’a, the country’s capital, and other parts of the nation. The Houthi rebels have been up against the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi – an internationally recognised government that is supported by a coalition of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Cholera has affected over 300,000 people there and there have been almost 8,000 deaths.
Iran regime, which has been meddling in other countries all across the Middle East, has just joined in on the action. It is supporting the Houthi rebels by providing personnel and materials.
Just as it inserted itself in the Syrian civil war, Iranian regime is taking the opportunity to meddle in Yemen to expand its influence across the region. It is all part of its Shiite crescent ambitions with Yemen being a strategic advantage point. Iran would one day have control over the Suez Canal.

If this was to happen, it would go against US interests in the region, showing us why it is essential for the US to get involved in the crisis in Yemen.

The US needs to ensure that Iranian regime’s objectives towards hegemony are hampered because it wants to have control over the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, including the gas and oil resources. It is also trying to take control of two of Islam’s holy sites – Medina and Mecca.

Freedom of the seas is something that must be sought by the United States, because Iran is making great efforts to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab-al-Mandab Strait. The Houthis are active in certain areas, showing that the threat needs to be taken seriously.

Another objective must be to eliminate all sources of terrorism that pose a threat to the US and its allies, including the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The Iranian regime’s lobbyists in the United States have led a campaign (with an international reach) portraying Saudi Arabia as carrying out countless and regular airstrikes on civilians, including children. They are trying to ensure that the US stops backing Saudi Arabia, but it must be noted that the United Nations human rights office has said that there have been indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations by both sides of the conflict.

Saudi Arabia has been the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Yemen which is especially important now that the country is about to enter a famine crisis. It has given the country hundreds of millions of dollars via the United Nations and it has set up a centre to coordinate and facilitate relief efforts. Yemenis that have illegally entered Saudi Arabia are also being allowed to become legal residents, giving them access to health care, employment and education.

So no, the United States should not stop backing Saudi Arabia. The United States should focus on the influence of Iranian regime and should create a strategy that will ensure it does not achieve its goal of total control over oil.