US Special Envoy Accuses Iran And Hezbollah Of Helping Houthis

JAKARTA - The United States special envoy for Yemen's Lending Team said the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanese Hezbollah agents were assisting Houthi militants in Yemen to carry out attacks in the Red Sea.

"Beliable public reports show a large number of Iranian and Lebanese agents supporting the Houthis attack from within Yemen," he said at a Senate foreign relations subcommittee hearing in Washington DC.

Reuters reported in January, citing Iranian sources and other sources in the region, members of the IRGC and Hezbollah were in Yemen to provide Houthis with expertise.

Iran-backed groups, which control large parts of Yemen, continue to attack ships moving through the Red Sea after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The source said commanders and agents helped the Houthis direct attacks and built operations, trained members, developed intelligence and smuggled weapons into Yemen.

"I can't imagine the Yemeni people want these Iranians to be in their country," said Lenderking.

"This must be stopped," he said.

However, it is unclear whether members of the IRGC and Hezbollah were in Yemen before the start of the Israeli-Gaza war or sent recently.

Attacks on commercial ships on important waterways of the Red Sea threaten at least 15 percent of global trade.

The US, along with other allied countries, has launched maritime security operations in the Red Sea and Aden Bay, called the Prosperous Guard Operation.

They also carried out air operations against Houthi-related sites in Yemen, hoping to obstruct or lower the group's ability to launch attacks.

"Did the attack stop the Houthi movement? No. Will they continue? Yes," US President Joe Biden said last month.