Al Mukalla: Military analysts and officials said on Thursday that Houthi attempts to smuggle Iranian weapons into Yemen and their placement of troops close to major cities indicate the group is getting ready for a new ground assault.
The warning was issued after a British warship, which was searching for a boat leaving from Iran on February 23, discovered a small shipment of weapons, including ballistic missile parts and a haul of Dehlavieh, the Iranian version of the Russian-made 9M133 Kornet anti-tank weapon.
Before the ship could re-enter Iranian territorial waters, a helicopter from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster stopped it, according to the British Defense Ministry.
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The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, which evaluated the missiles seized in Yemen, reported that Yemeni authorities had captured the same type of anti-tank missile in 2022 close to the Shahen border crossing with Oman.
Yahiya Abu Hatem, a military analyst, told Arab News that the Houthis are getting ready for a major land battle with the national army and the resistance. "The Houthi group's concentration on this significant and destructive weaponry, as well as Iran's ongoing shipments of Dehlavieh, indicate that the Houthis are preparing for this," he said.
The US, France, and local Yemeni authorities have all made thousands of seizures of Iranian-made assault rifles, ammunition, anti-tank missiles, and other weapons over the past two months.
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Yemen's peace efforts have been stalled since the Houthis refused to extend a truce that was mediated by the UN in October. In the event that the government disregarded its demands for a cut of oil revenue and the payment of workers in Houthi-controlled areas, the group threatened to carry out attacks.
The Houthis are allegedly preparing by gathering fighters outside important cities like Marib and Taiz and smuggling weapons from Iran, according to Yemeni military officials.
According to Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni military officer in Taiz, the Houthis' continued access to Iranian weapons and the repositioning of their forces near the city were signs that they were about to launch a significant military offensive.
According to Al-Baher, the Houthi militia is "organising its ranks, preparing its fighters, and smuggling weapons in preparation for a massive and protracted struggle within Yemen or against Saudi brothers." He also noted that the group has previously used Dehlavieh missiles in Taiz and other disputed locations.
Al-Baher claimed that over the past two years, the Houthis have employed thermal sniper rifles and a 21mm rotating Vulcan cannon. "The Houthi militia uses truces to trick people because they don't want peace. It is continuing to smuggle weapons as it gets ready for a new round of combat, he claimed.
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Similarly, Yemen's Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haydan called for increased international efforts to stop the flow of weapons and drugs into Yemen during the 40th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council on Wednesday in Tunisia. He claimed that his nation's coastguard, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, and the international navies have intercepted numerous shipments of weapons and drugs.
The Royal Navy's seizure follows others by US and French forces, and it comes as Western nations put more pressure on Iran as it continues to enrich uranium even more closely than before to levels suitable for use in weapons.
