US intelligence officer reveals task of Revolutionary Guard… Iranian expert: the battle of al-Hodeida is purely Iranian
English - Thursday 04 July 2019 الساعة 06:13 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
The Houthis used civilians as human shields and hid deliberately fighters and equipment near civilians in al-Hodeida city aiming at avoiding an attack," an UN source close to the UN Security Council experts said.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about these matters, said the Houthi militias had never withdrawn from the three main seaports in al-Hodeida city, adding that UN observers had discovered that the militias had intensified their fortifications inside the city, and dug tunnels to the sea.
Asked why the United Nations envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, was silent about these violations, he said: "He cannot comment on that."
While US intelligence Officer Bruce Riedel told NewsYemen that Iran recently escalates its support for the Houthis with weapons and funds and sent Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese experts and elements from Hezbollah to Yemen, taking advantage of the suspension of the al-Hodeida military operation.
Bruce Riedel said that " he did know how many Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese forces, affirming that the influx of the Iranians helped the Houthis a lot.
"There have been small numbers of Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers who have been in Yemen for several years and have increased in recent times," he said. "The Houthis are very fond of Hezbollah and have tried to use it as a model for their own development."
"Iran has been sending its elements from Sa'ada to al-Hodeida," an Iranian expert told NewsYemen, noting that the Iranians were largely present in Sa'ada province and on the Saudi border.
The Iranian expert on Middle East Affairs, who declined to be named, said that "the battle of al-Hodeida is purely Iranian," pointing out that the Houthis are merely tools to implement Tehran's agenda aiming at controlling Bab al-Mandab Strait on the Red Sea.
