Iran and Al Houthis on a dangerous path
The international community will not tolerate any threat to Bab Al Mandab or the Strait of Hormuz
On Wednesday, Al Houthi rebels launched a failed attack on a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, an incident that illustrates very clearly the dangers posed by these terrorists to international maritime traffic. Over the past three years, Al Houthis have launched missiles and struck a vessel delivering humanitarian aid to Yemen, targeted vessels, planted sophisticated sea mines and threatened the Bab Al Mandab, an international waterway critical to vessels transiting through the Suez Canal.
Clearly, these rebels that represent a miniscule minority of people in Yemen are determined to continue to disrupt international shipping lanes and endanger crew on vessels plying predetermined maritime channels. But the reality too is that these rebels have been given the weapons and mines that threaten these waterways by their masters in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and in the corridors of the regime in Tehran.
Over the past years, Tehran has readily armed, trained and provided logistical and technical support to allow Al Houthis to inflict death, injury and suffering on the people of Yemen, undermining its safety and security and threatening its future. That’s a threat that cannot not be accepted, and an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia — in which the UAE is proud to be playing its part — is acting on foot on resolutions from the United Nations Security Council to restore stability and the legitimate government of that nation.
Al Houthis and their masters in Tehran need to be aware that continuing to endanger vessels and threatening international waterways, as well as launching missile attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, cannot be tolerated and they merely serve to harden the resolve of the international community to end these threats and terrorist activities.
Make no mistake, by arming Al Houthis that threaten the Bab Al Mandab and by issuing threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is intent on stemming the flow of goods and oil from the region. It sends a clear message that it poses a very real danger to the region and is intent on disrupting international energy markets for its own gain. That is a situation that cannot be tolerated and those opposed to the regime are taking note. It is one thing to spread sedition or arm militias from the Mediterranean to the Bab Al Mandab, but something entirely more serious to actively encourage and threaten critical international waterways. That won’t be tolerated, no matter whether the perpetrators are Al Houthis — or their masters in Tehran.