Reports uncover global hidden networks surpassing Iran feeding the Houthis with weapons

Al Bawaba

2 days ago

ALBAWABA - Security and military experts say that recent increases in the number of weapons packages that were stopped on their way to Yemen's Houthi group show that Iran is losing control over more and more global drug trafficking networks.
They say the rise happens at a time when international intelligence agencies are working together more with the Yemeni government and Western countries are more worried about how the Houthis' relationships are changing.
According to Yemen's terrorist unit, security forces in Aden were able to take a package of drones, advanced control units, wireless devices, and extra parts for different types of weapons and military equipment thanks to information they gathered last week. The goods came from China and were on a business ship that was going to the war-torn port of Hodeidah before recent international bombings forced it to turn around.
This capture comes after a big operation a few weeks ago, when Yemen's National Resistance Forces stopped one of the biggest shipments of illegal weapons going to the Houthis. The package left from the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran, went through Djibouti, and was stopped in the Red Sea on its way to Hodeidah.
Colonel Waddah Al-Dubaish, spokesman for the Joint Yemeni Forces, said that since the beginning of 2024, the resistance has stopped eight major smuggling operations, keeping guns, military gear, and supplies for the militia. He said that "robust regional and international intelligence collaboration" and close watching of dangerous trade paths from Iran, East Asia, and the Horn of Africa were to blame for the results.
A group of people who were caught smuggling drugs admitted that they had sent 11 packages of strategic weapons parts hidden inside industrial items like batteries, generators, and hydraulic columns.
Brigadier General Yasser Saleh, a military planner, said that the increased flow of weapons was caused by two main things: heavy U.S. bombs that hurt the Houthis' skills, and the effects of the recent 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran on the rest of the area. He said that Tehran seems set on making the Houthis stronger as a fighting force in the area.
Military expert Brigadier General Abdulrahman Al-Rubaie said that Iran probably won't cut back on shipments of drones and missile systems because they see the Houthis as an important agent holding key land and are getting ready for a possible large-scale conflict.
Mohammed Al-Basha, a security expert, said that the Houthis were buying more industrial and technical parts that can be used for more than one thing. In particular, they were buying more drone parts that were easy to find in Chinese markets. He said that the Aden package was found "by chance" when Israeli bombs on Hodeidah caused a Chinese ship to change its path. He said that a recent arrest showed "coordinated smuggling backed by intelligence," which shows that Iran and the Houthis are working together more than ever.
Most experts say that the Houthis have become a key part of the so-called "Axis of Resistance." They have become more active while the Assad government in Syria and Hezbollah's power have decreased.