REVEALED: THE SCALE OF IRANIAN MILITARY SUPPORT FOR HOUTHIS
From drones and ballistic missiles to IEDs disguised as rocks, Arab Coalition reveals terrifying arsenal
The Arab Coalition has laid bare the extent of Iranian military support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, displaying drones, missiles and improvised explosive devices captured during the three-year conflict.
At a military briefing yesterday, advanced weaponry captured from Houthi rebels throughout Yemen offered a glimpse into the vast arsenal of Iranian-made weapons seized by coalition forces.
“Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are getting outside help. The evidence is here,” said a coalition officer familiar with technical weapons intelligence.
On display were components from IEDs, some of which were disguised as rocks and others as cooking pots.
The officer said the Arab Coalition estimated it had defused up to 30,000 explosive devices since the start of Yemen’s civil war, noting their increasing sophistication over time.
“IEDs have been taken to a level difficult for adults to distinguish. Imagine how bad it can be for children,” he said.
Also on show were Qasef-1 drones, near-identical replicas of the Iranian Ababils.
The Qasef, sometimes laden with explosives and other times equipped with cameras for surveillance, has become the drone of choice for Houthi rebels.
But the coalition officer said that the drones only entered the group’s arsenal in the years after the conflict began.
“They didn’t have any capability before the war,” he said.
“Within two years they started using small UAVs. This is not possible without external help.”
Wiring found on the Qasef drone had Farsi markings, indicating they were of Iranian origin.
Other recovered equipment had further indications pointing to their Iranian origin.
A “suicide boat” packed with explosives to be driven into the side of other vessels was captured by the coalition in the Red Sea early last year.
It was fitted with a software system made by Iranian company FHM Electronics.
The Tehran company’s logo was also found on circuit-boards in the boat’s guidance system.
Saved on the boat’s hard drive were dozens of co-ordinates from across Iran, two of which corresponded to confirmed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases.
Also displayed were Russian-made Kornet anti-tank guided missile launchers, and Iranian imitations.
The Kornet missile is widely available on the black market but markings on the launchers reveal that they were made in 2015.
This, the military official said, suggested that they were transferred to Yemen after the introduction of an international arms embargo.
“The smuggling is ongoing and is evolving,” the coalition officer said. “It hasn’t stopped.”
Recovered limpet mines were shown to be the same model as those pictured being used by the Revolutionary Guard Corpsduring a fast boat exercise in 2014.
A similar media display in December last year saw US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Hayley, present the charred remains of a ballistic missile fired by Houthis and shot down above the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Ms Hayley said the missile parts demonstrated Iran’s undeniable support for the Houthis.
The unanimously adopted UN Security Council arms embargo 2216 was introduced in April 2015 as part of a wider series of sanctions against Yemeni figures including Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi.
The coalition officer stressed that Arab forces were “working closely with international bodies, including the UN Security Council” to identify the sources of the weapons and enforce the arms embargo. He said that there was “clear evidence of transfer of technology”.
“The system components were consistent with those used by other Iranian proxies, for example Hezbollah.”
IEDs disguised as rocks were consistent with those found in Iraq and transmitters were the same as those found in Bahrain, he said. The officer said the “Iran-backed Houthis were using these with no discrimination between civilian and military targets”.
He said that the Houthis were “improving and improving” their weapons.
“They are a small group with not so much capability but they are getting help.”
He highlighted the group’s use of advanced infrared sensors on IEDs and explosively formed penetrator, an IED designed to pierce armour, which was widely used by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq.
The coalition officer said that Houthis were making use of dual-use items to import vital parts for ballistic missiles. A fuel tank captured by the coalition again bore markings indicating Iranian origin.
“The tank is consistent with those used as fuel tanks on Scud missiles. Iran has Scud missiles,” he said.
Houthi rebels have fired more than 100 missiles on Saudi Arabia in recent years. The most recent was on Sunday when Saudi air defences intercepted a missile fired at the southern city of Jizan.