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The Iranian Ambitions: a Yemeni Lesson for Syrians

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The Iranian Ambitions: a Yemeni Lesson for Syrians The Iranian Ambitions: A Yemeni Lesson for Syrians Policy Studying Unit 9th July 2016 Harmoon Centre for Contemporary Studies Harmoon Centre for Contemporary Studies is an independent, nonprofit, research, cultural and media institution. Its main focus is to conduct studies and researches about the Arab region, especially Syria. It also works towards cultural and media development, enhancing the civil society performance, and spreading democratic awareness and values of dialogue, as well as respect for human rights. The Centre also provides consultation and training services in political and media .fields to all Syrians on the basis of Syrian national identity To achieve its objectives, the Centre conducts its activities through five specialized units, (1) Policy Studies Unit, (2) Social Researches Unit, (3) Books Review Unit, .(4) Translation and Arabization Unit, and (5) Legal Unit A set of action programs are also adopted, such as the program for Political Consultations and Initiatives; Program for Services, Media Campaigns, and Public Opinion Making Program; Program for Dialogue Support and Civil and Cultural Development Program; Syria Future Program. The Centre may add new programs depending on the actual needs of Syria and the region. In implementing its programs, the Centre deploys multiple mechanisms, including lectures, workshops, seminars, conferences, training courses, as well as paper and .electronic press Website: www.harmoon.org Email: [email protected] Tel: +974 44885996 Doha, Qatar Contents I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Second, the Manifestations of Iranian Politics in Yemen ................................................................. 3 Third: Yemen as a Strategic Anchor ....................................................................................................... 4 Fourth: Iran and Slogans of "Defiance" and "Resistance to Israel." ................................................ 5 Fifth: The Repercussions of the Iranian Politics in Yemen, and the Arab Regional System ...... 7 Sixth: The Political Future of the Yemen as a State ............................................................................ 9 Seventh: Kuwaiti Deadlock Negotiations .......................................................................................... 10 1 I. Introduction After the victory of the "Islamic Revolution" in 1979, it didn’t take long for Iran to start building and implementing its strategy of "exporting the revolution" to the outside world; and the Arab world in particular. The leader of the “Islamic Council”, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led that revolution, did not deny the existence of such strategy when he announced in February 1980: "We will export our revolution to the whole world; so that everyone will know why we carried out our revolution", and he added: "We are exporting our revolution to the whole world, because our revolution is Islamic... and we will continue our fight against the superpowers." Consequently, and to path the way for implementing this strategy, few months after the success of the revolution, Iran began to develop its relations with many Arab countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, the Palestinian organizations, Libya, and Yemen. Ever since, Iran has sought to strengthen its ties with these countries, utilising big misleading slogans, such as (fighting Israel, and the liberation of Jerusalem), to serve implicit national political goals, disguised as religious goals. It is true that this strategy has served Iran immensely, but still it has caused significant damage as well. It has provided Iran with a strong and complex relationship with some organizations, however, leading it away from whole other countries. One of the first results of these policies is the Iraqi-Iranian war (1980 to 1988), which claimed the lives of more than a million and a half million people, followed by the Iranian interference in Lebanon, attempting to establish a mini-state within the state, first through the Amal movement, and then by founding Hezbollah, which in turn succeeded in becoming an armed entity, outlawing the Lebanese legitimacy, and driven directly by Tehran. 2 Moving to Yemen, Iran has found a proper ally in the Houthis. It showered them with money and weapons, and trained their fighters, and motivated them ideologically; turning them into an armed force, an instrument to stir unrest and turmoil, and harass neighbouring powers. They even went as far as starting a war with the Yemeni army, consuming and exhausting it with four consecutive wars, until they got hold of the capital Sanaa in September 2014. They have even teamed up with the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to assist in the draining of the Yemeni youth revolution. Second, the Manifestations of Iranian Politics in Yemen From the dawn of the Arab Spring revolutions, Iran focused its efforts and directed its policies in the region to drain these revolutions, including the Yemeni revolution. It worked intensively to ensure the flow of arms to the rebels, whether by smuggling them into Saada, or through financial support to enable purchasing them from the Yemeni markets. According to a 2009 report by the American Stranfor Center for Security Consultancy, Iran has established a base in Eritrea to supply the Houthis with weapons. Using smugglers, weapons would be transported from the port of Assab, to both ports of Midi and Al-Lehia; to Saada province, where the Houthis stronghold is. In the period between late 2011 and early 2012, Iran has intensified its political contact with the Houthis, and increased arms shipments to them, as part of what is described by military officials, and US Intelligence experts, as an Iranian effort to expand Tehran's influence in the entire Middle East, through arming its allies of entities, organizations and militias. 3 Third: Yemen as a Strategic Anchor Regardless of the sectarian outlook of the Iranian interference in Yemen, Iran has sought, through its interference there, to achieve several objectives, such as the expansion of its regional influence as a precaution against any losses that could be inflicted by the Arab Spring revolutions. That could be related to the fact that Tehran has realised that its ally in Damascus would fall sooner or later; thus to avoid the risks, they started searching for a new influence in the Arab world, where potential large losses could be compensated, losses like those that could be expected as a result of the change in Syria. Iran has realized that the possibility of extending its influence to Yemen, could not be achieved in a unified community and under the sovereignty of a dominant and stable government; therefore, in order to strengthen its allies, it worked on creating an explosive military situation, and a state of chaos that could be the background for re-balancing the power in the area. On top of that, since the outbreak of Yemen's revolution, Iran’s scheme included funding twenty media outlets, both paper and electronic, applying to obtain permits to seven different newspapers, and the launching of ten websites for individuals and groups, all of which were carrying out the same propaganda. In addition to that, three satellite channels addressed to the Yemeni public has been financed, managed by three established pro-Iran media outlets; which were, the Lebanese channel Al-Manar, the Iranian channel Al-Alam, and the third one was an Iraqi channel. Training courses for media cadres were being offered, organized in Beirut by Lebanese organizations, and connected to Iran. Yemeni officials have confirmed that these activities not only targeted the Yemen, but also the whole of the Arab Gulf states, and Saudi Arabia in particular. 4 On top of that, in an attempt to sabotage the situation in Aden as well, Iran contacted (the Southern Movement), which had some of its members trained in Tehran, and asked the leaders of the movement to recruit and train 6,500 young fighters; in addition to its ongoing support to the Houthis movement in the north. It is worth to mention that since the outbreak of the Yemeni Youth Revolution, Iran had sought to entice 1,200 fighters from Sana'a, Aden, Taiz, Saada, and sent them to Syria and Lebanon for military training at the hands of Hezbollah fighters, and then transferred them to the city of Qom in Iran; where they would be mobilised and turned into sabotage cells, controlled by Iran, and to be used when needed. Fourth: Iran and Slogans of "Defiance" and "Resistance to Israel." Under the pretext of resistance to Israel, and under the pretext of fighting it, Iranians have worked to access many Arab countries. Since the early eighties of the last century, the former Syrian president, Hafez Al-Assad, worked on building an alliance with Iran, to serve both his regime’s interest and that of Iran simultaneously. The prevailing circumstances at that time helped him and made him succeed through this alliance, especially during the Iraq - Iran war, when he successfully blackmailed the Arab Gulf countries and Iran at the same time. Since then, Iran has been looking forward to extending its control over Syria. Not for once, the Iranians were honest in their slogans against the Israeli occupation, and it was not a surprise to many when the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared in 5 August 2006, that his country "does not pose a threat to Israel", followed by his deputy and brother in law, Esfandiar
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