An Article in Breitbart on November 29, by Edwin Mora suggests that Iran may be looking to establish naval bases in Yemen or Syria. This, according to the chief of staff of the Iranian regime’s military.
“We need distant bases, and it may become possible one day to have bases on the shores of Yemen or Syria, or bases on islands or floating (bases),” the newspaper, Shargh Daily, quotes Iranian General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri as he spoke to a gathering of naval commanders, according to Reuters. “Is having distant bases less than nuclear technology? I say it is worth dozens of times more,” Baqeri added in his remarks, which were published on Sunday.
In a rare response denouncing Iran’s plan, Saleh al-Samad, political council chief for the Houthi rebels, wrote in a statement on Facebook, “Not one inch of Yemen’s land or waters will be forfeited to any foreign party… whether a friend or an enemy.”
The Shiite Houthi official slammed the Baqeri’s comments, urging the Iran regime to familiarize itself with the history of failed attempts to occupy Yemen.
Iran denied the United States and Sunni Saudi Arabia’s accusations that it is providing military assistance to the Houthis in Yemen.
A U.S.-backed coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, has been fighting the Shiite rebels in Yemen since March 2015 in an effort to restore the internationally backed Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The Iran regime’s general’s comments are likely to intensify concerns among Saudi Arabia and its allies.
Eleven Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism by “funding and arming militias that destabilize our region,” in a letter to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this month, echoing an official U.S. position.
According to the Associated Press (AP) representatives of the 11 countries wrote that Iran is “constantly interfering in the internal affairs of Arab nations, sparking tension and instability in the region,” specifically citing the Islamic Republic’s activities in Yemen and Syria. They accuse the Iran regime of providing support to the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen and the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Iran has deployed thousands of members of Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, and ‘Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) along with Shiite fighters from Afghanistan and Iran.
Iran and Syria are both officially listed as state-sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. government. Russia and Iran have been Assad’s primary benefactors.
Interestingly, the Iranian general’s recent declarations come while confrontations between the Iranian navy and its American counterpart in the Persian Gulf are on the rise. Commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, boasted last week, that the Iran regime’s 44th flotilla of warships had entered the Atlantic ocean for the first time. He argued that the fleet’s mission is to protect Iranian vessels and oil tankers against pirates, and Iran contends that its military presence in international waters is in line with international efforts against piracy.
Rear Admiral Sayyari claims that the Iranian navy has traveled to India, Pakistan, Oman, Tanzania, Azerbaijan, and South Africa, and has plans to go to Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, in addition to countries that border the Indian Ocean and are located in Southeast Asia.
