The United States is increasingly concerned about training by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards for the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
U.S. officials said Tehran’s direct involvement with the Houthis was limited but that U.S. intelligence assessments had concluded that Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel were training and equipping Houthi units.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, expressed concern that the IRGC’s mission could include training the Houthis to use advanced weaponry they acquired after seizing Yemeni military bases.
On Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters: “We’ve expressed our previous concerns about the destabilizing impact that Iran is having on this particular situation. We continue to have those concerns.”
An official at the U.S. National Security Council official said on Thursday that Tehran’s actions were destabilizing and threatening Yemen’s government.
“We have concerns about Iranian activities in Yemen and reports of Iranian flow of arms into Yemen,” Alistair Baskey said.
The actions, he added, were “contributing to destabilizing the situation and contributing to the threat posed to the legitimate government.”
The United States has announced it would provide “logistical and intelligence support” to the Saudi-led military attack.
Officials said that could mean providing refueling and early-warning radar aircraft support.
About a dozen US military personnel are taking part in a “joint planning cell” at an undisclosed base in Saudi Arabia to coordinate American help to the Persian Gulf states, officials said. And it was likely the team would expand in coming days.
