IRAN: Khamenei’s secret plans to occupy Sanaa and takeover Yemen
Sunday, 03 May 2015 22:41
NCRI – According to reports that have recently reached the Iranian Resistance, last June,
Khamenei ordered the terrorist Qods Force (QF) to speed up the plan for occupation of Sanaa and to control Yemen by the Houthis.
This measure followed the escalation of crisis in Iraq and the
occupation of large swathes of that country by ISIS and the
establishment of an international coalition in this respect. Khamenei
had stated that since U.S. is preoccupied with ISIS and Iraq, as well as
the nuclear talks, it is prone to overlook the Iranian regime’s
intervention in Yemen, the reports said. He stressed that this
opportunity may be used by the regime to spread its influence to Yemen
and thus overshadow the problems it faces in Iraq.
1. On July 12, 2014, speaking to a group of QF commanders, IRGC
Brigadier General Esmail Qa’ani, deputy QF commander, announced a new
phase of operations by Ansarullah in Yemen.
With this operation, we will place Saudi Arabia in a vulnerable position,
he elaborated. These statements that were posted in a classified IRGC
bulletin followed a series of military preparations and training of the
Houthis in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
2. As Ansarullah entered Sanaa, regime’s foreign ministry’s assistant
for Arabia and Africa Hossein Abdollahian noted in his remarks to a
group of foreign ministry officials: “Soon, we are going to witness
victories in Yemen and with the least expenditure,
the Islamic republic will reap great achievements in Yemen. The future Yemen will enjoy Iran’s all out support.”
3. Based on sources inside the regime, the National Council of
Resistance (NCR) issued a statement on October 12, 2014 disclosing: “
Khamenei
has emphasized that ‘the Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen axis’ is
crucial ‘for the Islamic Republic of Iran and there should be no retreat
in this regard’… It is through this ring that ‘we can surround the
rest of the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Jordan,’ and put
pressure on countries such as Egypt.”
4. On October 19, 2014, Khamenei’s foreign affairs adviser Ali Akbar
Velayati, in his meeting with a group of Houthis in Tehran titled
“Yemeni scholars and cultural figures”, noted: “In Yemen, Ansarullah
should play the very role that Hezbollah is playing in Lebanon.”
5. In January 2015, following the occupation of the presidential
palace in Sanaa, a delegation composed of Houthi leaders visited Tehran
and met with the Office of Khamenei and the QF, as well as other organs.
6. Concurrent with these meetings, QF wrote in a classified briefing: “
The unified and powerful organization of Ansarullah is Iran’s work. They
were in Iran for years. For 15 years, Iran has constantly worked with
the Ansarullah movement. They have reached this state through our
constant support, training and sustenance and intelligence. Moreover,
the QF has supported them through Hezbollah and other Arab groups.
Ansarullah is completely under Iran’s command.”
7.
Following the initiation of operation “Decisive Storm”, a classified QF
document stipulated that it is two years now that the IRGC
has transferred all sorts of weaponry to the Houthis in Yemen,
including a large number of surface-to-surface and surface-to-sea
missiles, and thus they have no problem of shortage of missiles and
weaponry (this document is in the possession of the Iranian Resistance).
8. Up until the Arab coalition, injured Houthis were regularly
transferred to Iran. Including on March 23, the QF airlifted 52 injured
members of Ansarullah to IRGC Baqiyatollah Hospital in Tehran. IRGC
General Qa’ani personally paid a visit to them at the hospital.
9. Mahan airliner (affiliated with the IRGC) that was forced to turn
back from Sanaa on April 29 was carrying to Yemen a number of Ansarullah
commanders who had been in Tehran and Lebanon. This same airliner was
to transfer a number of Houthis to Tehran under the pretext that they
are wounded. For the purpose, a section of Baqiyatollah Hospital had
been cleared of other patients.
10. For many years, Yemen’s file was being followed by the QF, but
since last year, Khamenei is directly following this file through the
QF. The QF employs other governmental organs for this purpose as well.
Houthi representatives in Tehran have regular meetings at Khamenei’s
Office and Shabankari is responsible for the Houthis affairs in this
office.
11. Since the beginning of operation Decisive Storm, regime’s leaders
are constantly meeting at the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)
to follow this issue. Saeid Iravani, the political and international
assistant of SNSC secretariat, is responsible for coordinating Yemen’s
affairs.
12. In this time span, IRGC Major General Qasem Soleimani, QF brutal
commander, is following up the war in Yemen from Tehran as QF’s main
mission. IRGC Brigadier General Amirian, a Soleimani deputy responsible
for the Arabian Peninsula in the QF, is regime’s direct commander in the
war in Yemen. He holds the daily staff meetings on this war in Tehran.
13. The QF has also set up a headquarters in Lebanon to intervene in
the war in Yemen with cooperation from the Hezbollah. An IRGC classified
report reads: “Hassan Nasrallah is wholly behind the war in Yemen and a
large section of the work is followed through in Lebanon. He meets with
the Houthi commanders and officials in Lebanon… Hassan Nasrallah works
with Houthis under Qasem Soleimani’s supervision. They have their
headquarters in southern Beirut and QF commanders follow on Yemen
through Lebanon.”
14. Once operation “Decisive Storm” began and the routes of sending
assistance to Houthis were closed, Tehran continued assisting the
Houthis in the following three aspects:
– The presence of some QF commanders on the ground who practically do the planning and direct the Houthis;
– Establishment of essential communication systems so that the
Houthis and the IRGC elements in Yemen could be in direct contact with
the QF in Tehran to receive guidance;
– Dispatch of further forces and commanders from the Lebanese
Hezbollah to help the Ansarullah. Since entry of IRGC elements to Yemen
is proving more difficult, regime is dispatching Hezbollah commanders to
Yemen through various routes. Some are pulled out of the front in Iraq
and transferred to Yemen.
15. Some factions within the regime, especially at the foreign
ministry, consider the “Decisive Storm” as a heavy and strategic blow to
the regime. A classified report emphasis on several points:
– We just went too far in Yemen. Taking over Sanaa was a good move,
but advancing towards Aden was a mistake. When foreign minister of
Jordan brought a message of peace from Saudis to Iran and urged Iran not
to interfere in Yemen, the QF miscalculated and planned Yemen’s
occupation, much like Syria and Iraq.
– This is a strategic defeat in the region… similar to the case in
Tikrit, Iraq where forces aligned with Iran were pushed back and U.S.
threatened that it would not carry out airstrikes unless the militias
are pulled back.
– IRGC cannot takeover all of Yemen with the Houthis. Had the Houthis
remained in Sanaa, Saudis wanted to negotiate and we were in a better
position. The move to takeover Yemen was a mistake and premature and it
led to this confrontation with Iran unprecedented in the past few
decades.
– Iran should have played the same way as it did with the Hezbollah
in Lebanon. It should have let Mansour Hadi keep Aden. After the end of
talks and overture in nuclear discussions, Iran could have gradually
advanced in the region… Regrettably, IRGC brothers lack a logical and
strategic viewpoint.
– IRGC commanders were surprised as they little expected this situation [the Decisive Storm]…
– Posting of reports and pictures of Haj Qassem [Soleimani] on the
internet was a trap for the IRGC and got the region mobilized against
Iran; weakening the forces loyal to Iran. Right now, Iran’s years of
investment in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq has been hurt.
16. Reciprocally, a classified QF report says: “There is no plan for
Houthis to retreat. They are to advance. They have good resources of
weaponry and missiles and can withstand. They have 180,000 mobilized
forces ready to fight. They have 20,000 strong suicidal elements. Thus
the Houthis are the winners and Saudi Arabia will be the loser of this
play. Most significant is that after 33 years a revolution similar to
the Islamic Republic revolution with the leadership of the supreme
leader is taking shape in Yemen.”
17. In the current circumstances and at a time when the Houthis are
ruling in Sanaa, regime’s policy at the political scene is to stress on a
swift ceasefire in order to have the upper hand in the negotiations.
According to classified QF reports, “this situation is unsupportable for
the Saudis and the more the situation in Yemen deteriorates, it will be
to the detriment of Saudis and the coalition forces will step aside;
Saudis cannot have hegemony. Therefore, Ansarullah should be patient”.
Another QF report states: “If a car explodes in the capital of one of
the countries in the coalition, that country shall drop out of the
coalition.” Some sources state that these reports are to boost the moral
and give hope to regime’s forces.
18. In a fake muscle-flexing on April 17, Deputy IRGC Commander
Salami noted: “Ansarullah can attack the Saudi navy and confront a Saudi
ground assault… Ansarullah have missile and armored capabilities and
they have artillery. They almost have a powerful army in the region… If
Saudi attacks continue, they [Houthis] would certainly respond by
attacking Saudi ground forces and enter the Saudi territory. Surely, the
Ansarullah will not be hands tied in face of Saudi attacks.”
By stressing on the above points, as well as many other facts and
details, the Security and Anti-terrorism Commission of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran emphasizes on the fact that as long as
this antihuman regime is ruling Iran, it shall not abandon export of
terrorism and fundamentalism and warmongering in countries in the
region. Therefore, the sole solution to attain peace and tranquility in
the region is to evict the Iranian regime and the forces affiliated with
it from the region, especially from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen and
ultimately to topple this regime in Iran.
Security and Anti-terrorism Committee of National Council of Resistance of Iran
May 2, 2015
