Iranian guards in Yemen directed Houthi blitz on key Red Sea cities, sources say

Iranian Revolutionary Guards were on the ground in Yemen helping Houthi rebels seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blitz this month, people familiar with the offensive tell The Associated Press, marking Iran’s most direct intervention in favor of its longtime ally since Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014.

The AP spoke to 10 officials and soldiers to assemble an account of the Houthi offensive. They included a senior Houthi official, two regional officials, a top Yemeni military commander and a member of Yemen’s ruling presidential council. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision making.

Directed by IRGC advisers, a swift, 115-kilometer (75-mile) assault exploited divisions among forces allied with Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, their first major offensive since 2017. The Houthis penetrated the internal communications of one of the main forces, the National Resistance, allowing them to track its movements and sow confusion.

Last year, Iran began providing the Houthis with stepped-up training and logistical support on more advanced missiles, drones and uncrewed attack boats, says Mzahem Alsaloum, a security analyst who has followed Iranian-backed groups for nearly a decade and now runs a private intelligence firm.

In July, the Houthis renewed their attacks on Saudi Arabia after accusing it of striking the airport in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa. That strike appears to have been aimed at halting a flight from Tehran.

Alsaloum and a senior Houthi official say the Iranian flight, which later landed, brought Revolutionary Guard advisers, who joined other advisers from the Guard — and Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah — already based in Yemen.

According to the Houthi official, Iranian advisers had previously focused on strategic planning and were not in the field. But in the latest escalation, they were “present at all levels,” he said, including planning tactical maneuvers and working with front-line commanders.

Two regional officials, who are regularly briefed on the latest developments in Yemen, also say Iran provided direct support that helped the rapid advance.

Alsaloum says that in addition to helping in a command role, the Iranian advisers analyzed communications and satellite intelligence, capacities the Houthis were lacking.