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Iran has reportedly ordered its military personnel to leave areas controlled by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen, the Telegraph reported on April 3, citing a “senior Iranian official.”
The unnamed official told the British newspaper that Tehran was scaling back its support of its regional allies to focus on the direct threats emanating from the United States.
“Every meeting is dominated by discussions about [U.S. President Donald Trump],” the official said.
According to the official, Iran’s pullback from Yemen was designed to avoid the possibility of escalation if an Iranian soldier is killed in U.S. airstrikes there.
Iran is the main backer of the Houthis, with reports suggesting that the group’s drone and missile capabilities were built with direct help from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The U.S. military resumed strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on March 15 on orders from Trump, who said that the large-scale operation was launched in response to the group’s renewed attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Since the start of the operation, at least 67 people, including commanders of the Houthis and civilians, have been reportedly killed.
Trump threatened Iran amid the operation, warning it of military consequences if it did not halt support of the Houthis. The U.S. President later made even more serious to Tehran over its nuclear program.
Tehran is focusing its efforts instead on how to respond to Trump’s recent threats, and “none of the regional groups we previously supported are being discussed,” the official said.
“The view here is that the Houthis will not be able to survive and are living their final months or even days, so there is no point in keeping them on our list,” he continued.
“They were part of a chain that relied on Nasrallah and Assad, and keeping only one part of that chain for the future makes no sense,” the official added, referring respectively to the former leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah and Syria.
Iran has not yet commented on the Telegraph’s report, which may be just a piece of propaganda. While the United Kingdom didn’t take part in the ongoing U.S. operation against the Houthis, it did launch strikes against the group in cooperation with the U.S. military last year.
The Houthis seemed unaffected by the alleged Iranian withdrawal. On April 4, the group announced that they had once again attacked the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and several other warships of the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea with a number of cruise missiles and suicide drones.
Houthi military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement that the attack, which was the second in under 24 hours, foiled two waves of strikes on Yemen.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with trust in God, are confronting the American aggression against our country and are preparing, with God’s help, to confront any possible developments during the coming period. The aggressor will know that great Yemen cannot be broken or surrendered, and will not abandon its religious, moral and humanitarian duties towards the oppressed Palestinian people, whatever the repercussions and whatever the results. Victory will be Yemen’s ally, God willing,” the spokesman added.
A halt of Iranian support could be disastrous for the Houthis. However, it would be as bad, if not worse, for Tehran as this would allow the U.S. and Israel to direct more capabilities towards it. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the Islamic Republic will take such a risk.
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