Dubai--Iran's backing of Shiite Huthi rebels came under fire from Washington on Thursday, but while there can be no doubt of Tehran's support for the movement, the full extent is unclear.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the United States would not "stand by" as the region is "destabilised" by Iran backing the Huthis.
Washington has already backed the Saudi-led air campaign launched by Riyadh after the Huthis took control of the capital Sanaa and then moved on the southern city of Aden, where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had taken refuge.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran -- the main Shiite power -- of backing the Huthis in a bid to instal a Tehran-friendly regime.
Kerry said Washington had traced flights from Iran in support of the Huthis, and there have been several other signs of support in recent years.
Yemeni authorities have claimed several times to have intercepted ships carrying weapons allegedly from Iran to the Huthis.
Soon after the rebels overran Sanaa last September, eight Yemeni sailors who had been convicted of smuggling weapons to the Huthis were freed.
Two Iranians, said to belong to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, were released the same week after they were held in Sanaa on charges of training Shiite rebels.
Tehran's ideological influence on the Huthis was always clear, as they chanted the Iranian slogan "Death to America! Death to Israel!" at protest rallies and waved the flags of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, which is openly backed by Iran.
AFP
