President Al-Alimi: We have All Evidence of Iran’s Subversive Role in Yemen and the Region

  Aden

His Excellency President Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council, has reiterated his call to the international community to join in implementing punitive measures against the Houthi militias and to designate them as a global terrorist organization.  

In an interview with the German newspaper “DER SPIEGEL”, the President emphasized that designating the Houthis as a terrorist group, imposing economic isolation on them, implementing United Nations Security Council resolutions, and supporting the government’s efforts to restore its official institutions are essential steps to secure the Red Sea and defeat the axis of evil, which includes Iran, the Houthis, and Al-Qaeda.  

His Excellency warned that Iran, in collaboration with Al-Qaeda, the Houthis, and all terrorist organizations in the Horn of Africa, is pursuing a long-term strategy to dominate the Red Sea and threaten global interests.  

He added, "The Houthis seek to blackmail the world by threatening vital waterways, cloaking their destructive actions with misleading political justifications. Behind this lies Iran's broader vision of dominating the Red Sea—a long-standing plan for which the Houthis serve as its executive tool."  

The President also noted that following the death of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Iran is now positioning Abdul Malik al-Houthi as his successor, a new political and spiritual leader. 

He clarified that Al-Houthi has repeatedly declared in his speeches that Yemen is the "axis of resistance," and his ambitions to become the most prominent figure in the Iranian axis are not new.  

His Excellency further stated that Iran's investment in the Houthi group now exceeds what Hezbollah and Hassan Nasrallah previously had received. 

He pointed out that military support previously directed to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah is now being redirected to the Houthis, including the appointment of Revolutionary Guard commanders as envoys to the Houthi militia in Sana'a.  

President Al-Alimi highlighted Iran's continued violations of international resolutions related to the arms embargo on the Houthis, noting that the Yemeni government recently intercepted new shipments of weapons en route to Houthi-controlled areas. 

He affirmed that the advanced weapons used by the Houthis in their attacks on maritime navigation and regional interests were not part of the Yemeni army's arsenal seized during their coup against the national consensus in September 2014.  

He also reaffirmed that Yemeni intelligence agencies possess conclusive evidence, including the presence of Iranian and Lebanese experts in Houthi-controlled areas.

“The weapons used by the Houthis are identical copies of the Iranian arsenal," he said, citing reports from the United Nations Sanctions Committee confirming their origin, including cruise missiles, medium-range weapons, guided missiles, anti-ship weapons, surface-to-air missiles, attack drones, and launch platforms.  

His Excellency the President also revealed that the Yemeni government has conclusive evidence of the alliance between Iran, the Houthis, and Al-Qaeda, pointing to deals involving the release of Al-Qaeda prisoners who were serving varying sentences, and their subsequent arming and funding to carry out terrorist attacks in liberated governorates. 

He further noted that Somali authorities have seized large quantities of weapons transferred by the Houthis to the Al-Shabaab militia, which is allied with Al-Qaeda, stating, "these are facts, and we have the evidence."  

The President ruled out any possibility of Tehran changing its destructive behavior, emphasizing that Iran is committed to its long-term strategy of dominating the region. He asserted that all negotiations and dialogues regarding its nuclear program are merely tactics to achieve these objectives.  

While expressing satisfaction with the international community's recognition of these facts, His Excellency stressed that airstrikes alone will not end the threat to international maritime navigation. He stated, "The problem lies in the existence of a fascist group that overthrew our elected government ten years ago and has since become a tool of the Iranian axis of evil."  

He added, "The strategy of undermining this theocratic project must be defeated. Only then can we rebuild Yemen as it deserves for its sons and daughters and maintain international peace and security."  

His Excellency praised the role of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stating that without this coalition, the Houthis and Iran would have already seized control of all of Yemen up to the borders of Oman. 

He added, "With the Coalition's help, we have liberated 70 percent of Yemen's territory. Moreover, over three million Yemenis work in Saudi Arabia, and without their remittances and Saudi Arabia's support as a donor country, Yemen would be in a far worse situation today."