Cairo: With the reinstatement of US sanctions against Iran, the latter’s proxies in Yemen, known as Al Houthis, are likely to feel the fallout, analysts have said.
Iran is widely believed to have provided weapons to Al Houthis since the militant group staged a coup against the internationally-recognised government in Yemen in late 2014.
The Iranian collusion is seen to have prolonged the poor country’s war now in its fourth year.
“The renewed US sanctions have dealt a hard blow to Iran’s ambition to finance its expansion in the region with the gains it once expected to make from the [2015] nuclear agreement,” said Ahmad Abdul Qader, an expert at the Cairo-based newspaper Al Ahram.
In May, US President Donald Trump announced his country’s exit from the international nuclear deal, calling it defective.
The lifting of sanctions on Iran enabled it to use the money gained towards funding its regional proxies.
US officials have repeatedly accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East through its proxies including Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
“Economic experts estimate the cost of the Tehran regime’s involvement in the regional and regional conflicts at about 3 trillion dollars since the Islamic Iran republic was announced in 1979,” Abdul Qader added im am article.
He argued that a wide-ranging boycott declared last year by four Arab countries against Qatar, an ally of Iran, has reined in Tehran from using Doha to expand Iranian intervention in the region, including Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, a partner to the anti-Qatar quartet, is leading a military coalition supporting the Yemeni government against Al Houthis.
“The reformation of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, after the expulsion of Qatar from the alliance, has inflicted heavy casualties and losses on Al Houthis militias supported by Iran,” said Abdul Qader.
Yemeni officials have recently cited fallout from Trump’s pressure on Tehran on its proxies, Al Houthis, in Yemen.
“The clear-eyed Trump strategy on Iran, along with withdrawing from the Iran deal and demanding that it cease its destabilising behaviour in the region, has made clear to Iran and its proxies in Yemen that meddling in the region will not be tolerated,” Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to the US, told FOX News.
As a result of these “strong and positive signals,” Al Houthis are beginning to engage more with the peace process, he explained.
“So withdrawing from the Iran deal will definitely contribute to the end of the war in Yemen,” Bin Mubarak, who is also Yemen’s chief delegate to the UN, said.
Over the past four years, Al Houthis have fired ballistic missiles, believed to have been procured from Iran, towards Saudi Arabia.
Both Tehran and Al Houthis have denied the accusation. However, evidence has been found that the weaponry came from Iran.
But Iran’s military and financial support for Al Houthis is thought to have dwindled in recent months as economic woes have triggered street protests inside the country.
“The repercussions are quite clear on the battleground in Yemen where Al Houthis have lost a lot of land to the legitimacy troops in recent years,” Said Salah Al Hadi, an Egyptian political expert.
“As a result of these setbacks and the deterioration of the economic situation inside Iran, Al Houthis find themselves militarily and politically besieged,” Al Hadi added.
Earlier this month, UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, announced he would invite the warring sides for talks in Geneva on September 6 to set the scene for restart of long-stalemated negotiations.
“The Iranian regime is facing enough trouble at home that it makes increasingly difficult for it to continue spending on its proxies as was the case before. The situation is putting increasing pressure on Al Houthis and pushing them to the negotiating table. This can eventually help end the war in Yemen.”
