WASHINGTON, United States: Agents of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are operating inside Yemen to support Houthi militia attacks on international shipping, US officials said on Tuesday.
Tim Landerking, the US special envoy to Yemen, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran’s clerical government was “preparing and facilitating” the Houthi attack, which led to the retaliatory attacks by the US and the UK on Yemen.
“Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives are supporting Houthi attacks from inside Yemen,” said Lenderking.
“I can’t imagine the Yemeni people want these Iranians in their country. This must stop,” he added.
The White House said in December that Iran was “deeply involved” in planning the attack, which the Houthis claim was an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Houthis, who control heavily populated areas in war-torn Yemen, had previously reported that 17 fighters had been killed in Western strikes targeting military installations.
The Houthi offensive has severely affected traffic on the busy Red Sea route, forcing some companies to make a two-week diversion in southern Africa.
Egypt announced last week that Suez Canal revenue has fallen by 50% this year.
