Dozens of Houthi militants received trainings from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps at a naval academy for special forces in northern Iran, the UK’s The Telegraph daily has revealed.
A group of 200 Houthi fighters travelled to the Khameini Academy of Naval Sciences and Technology in Ziba Kenar on the Caspian coastline, sources inside Iran told The Telegraph. The claim was verified by multiple defense sources, it added.
A section is dedicated to the six-month training course for foreign mercenaries under the command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, including the Houthis.
The academy was established in 2013 and within four years, all IRGC naval training, including that of Iran’s proxies, was transferred there.
The first course for Houthis in naval science and technology was launched in January 2020, and the Houthis were housed separately from other students, who were barred from interacting with them to prevent intelligence leaks.
The Telegraph then revealed that the Farur Island, a small, uninhabited island in the middle of the Gulf controlled by the IRGC Navy, is also used for training Iran’s mercenaries.
The Island is in a strategic position, described by the IRGC as a conflict area as it includes the occupied Emirati islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb.
The Houthi group has been launching attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes.
On Thursday, the US and UK forces said they have shot down more than 20 drones and missiles over the Red Sea launched by the Houthis, in what London branded Wednesday the “largest attack” yet by the Iran-backed insurgents.
Washington and London have also hinted at further measures to protect international shipping lanes.
This week, the UN Security Council issued a resolution that demanded the Houthis to immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
