Houthis Sponsored by Iran Against West, India Not Directly on Radar, Reveals Intel Note

The Houthis are mainly sponsored by Iran against the West and India is not directly on their radar, according to an Intelligence note accessed by CNN-News18.

Washington and London have launched strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza. This follows weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping and have stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading region-wide.

As per the Intel note, Iran has been training and sponsoring the Houthis through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah. It also provided them drones (some with Chinese engines) and ballistic missiles and other types of weapons via ships.

Meanwhile, China is helping them build factories, smuggle weapons parts, is sending advisers and even at one point had an ambassador to Sana’a before he died under mysterious circumstances. They also trained many of their commanders in elite military academies in Iran and have them travel back and forth through Oman and Lebanon for meetings.

Houthis frequently travel to Tehran for meetings with top-level officials. Over the years, they have become more ideologically loyal to Khomeinism. From allies of convenience, they have become complete proxies, eventually turning into a more serious paramilitary unit.

This is similar to Hezbollah, which can be integrated and directed into regional and — perhaps in the future — global operations.

In terms of India, the Houthis are being directed by Iran, which increasingly sees India as an ally of the West.

Iran strives to be the leader of the Muslim world. However, majority of the Muslim community in India is Sunni. This too irks Iran which sees the country as a ground for potential conversion but because India is a nuclear power, currently Iran is in too weak a position to attack.

Iran is also concerned that India may form a formidable ally in the Indo-Pacific against its own interests and alliance with China. Iran is thus attacking to send a signal to force India to choose sides in its favour.

China, meanwhile, openly supports Hamas as a political movement and is spreading pro-Hamas propaganda against the West on Tik Tok and in their media. They are also likely to help them with various technical issues such as hacking.