Arab Coalition: Iranian Weapons Seized from Houthis in Yemen

A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
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Arab Coalition: Iranian Weapons Seized from Houthis in Yemen

A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)

The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Wednesday that it had seized Iranian-made weapons from Houthi militias.

Spokesman for the coalition Turki al-Maliki announced during a press conference: “We are receiving several contacts over a list of wanted Houthis. We are aware of the movements of the fugitives in Yemen.”

The coalition command welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of the Houthis’ launch of a ballistic missile towards Saudi Arabia, adding: “There is a responsibility on some countries that are turning a blind eye to the arms being smuggled to the Houthis.”

To that end, the coalition revealed that a new search and investigation mechanism was put in place to uncover smuggled weapons.

Saudi Arabia announced on December 19 that it had intercepted south of Riyadh a ballistic missile that was fired by the Houthis. No one was injured and no damages were incurred in the incident, which was widely condemned by the international community.

In addition, Maliki revealed that five ships loaded with fuel headed to Yemen’s Hodeidah port this week. The coalition also granted ten permits to allow the passage of aid through land portals.

The alliance continues to provide humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people, he stressed, while saying that some food aid was airdropped in besieged regions.

Moreover, Maliki revealed that the Houthis were expelled from the Shabwa region and “it is now under the control of the legitimate Yemeni government.”

The area is now being swept for mines that the militia left behind, he stated.

Furthermore, he stressed that the national Yemeni army was advancing “strongly” on al-Bayda province.

“The Houthis have lost a lot of their civil leaders and their morale is low,” said the coalition spokesman.

He urged anyone who has information on the Houthi terrorists to come forward, adding that the coalition carried out strikes against 412 Houthi targets, some of which were near the Saudi Arabia border. Other targets included a rocket factory in Saada, weapons caches and Houthi gathering points.



Iran Denies Aiding Yemen’s Houthi Militias after US Strikes

 People gather on the rubble of a house hit by a US strike in Saada, Yemen March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
People gather on the rubble of a house hit by a US strike in Saada, Yemen March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Iran Denies Aiding Yemen’s Houthi Militias after US Strikes

 People gather on the rubble of a house hit by a US strike in Saada, Yemen March 16, 2025. (Reuters)
People gather on the rubble of a house hit by a US strike in Saada, Yemen March 16, 2025. (Reuters)

Iran on Sunday once again denied aiding Yemen's Houthi militias after the United States launched a wave of airstrikes against them and President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would be held “fully accountable” for their actions.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least 31 people, including women and children, and wounded over 100. The Houthis said one strike hit two homes in northern Saada province, killing four children and a woman. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV showed images of what it said were the bodies.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and launched missiles and drones at Israel in what the militias said were acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally.

The attacks stopped when a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire took hold in Gaza in January, but the Houthis had threatened to renew them after Israel cut off the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza this month.

The US and others have long accused Iran of providing military aid to the Houthis and the US Navy has seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry it said were bound for the group, which controls Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and the country's north.

Gen. Hossein Salami, head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, denied his country was involved in the Houthi attacks, saying it “plays no role in setting the national or operational policies” of the militant groups it is allied with across the region, according to state-run TV.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, urged the US to halt the strikes and said Washington cannot dictate Iran's foreign policy.

Trump on Saturday had vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along the vital maritime corridor.

The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s latest blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and January of this year, when the ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen, but Saturday’s operation was conducted solely by the US It was the first strike on the Houthis under the second Trump administration.