Could this be accurate? Historical patterns says yes.
In part and translated: Sources said that the ship, which arrived at the port carrying military equipment up to more than 180 tons of weapons and military equipment, the second after he arrived late in February last ship to the port of Hodeidah coming from Ukrainian and is loaded with Russian arms shipment and quality related to aviation and the air force.
Iranian ship unloads 185 tons of weapons for Houthis at Saleef port
Friday, 20 March 2015
An Iranian ship unloaded more than 180 tons of weapons and military equipment at a Houthi-controlled port in western Yemen, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Friday, quoting security sources.
The ship had docked at al-Saleef port northwest of the al-Hodeida province on Thursday, the sources said.
The Houthi militias reportedly closed the port and denied entrance to employees there. Al-Saleef port is considered the second most vital in Yemen.
The news follows last week’s economic partnership agreements between Iran and the Houthis, including a deal that promises a year’s worth of oil supply from Iran.
Iran has also agreed to provide Yemen with a 200 megawatt power plant, according to Yemeni news agency Saba.
Yemen is torn by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the north, and the internationally-recognized President Abedrabbu Mansorur Hadi, who has set up a rival seat in the south with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.
The Shiite Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in September last year before tightening their grip and prompting President Hadi to submit his resignation. Their rise to power has deepened division in Yemen’s web of political and religious allegiances, and left the country increasingly cut of from the outside world. *** Then there was a very similar shipment in 2013.
Yemen says intercepted ship carrying weapons was Iranian
Feb 2 (Reuters) – Yemen confirmed on Saturday that a ship intercepted last month off its coast was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and surface-to-air missiles to the country, the state news agency Saba reported.
Officials in Washington said earlier this week that the seizure of the ship on January 23 had been coordinated with the U.S. Navy and that the intercepted shipment was believed to have been from Iran and destined for insurgents, likely to be Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels mainly based in northern Yemen.
Saba quoted a source at Yemen’s higher security committee as saying the weapons including Russian-designed SAM 2 and SAM 3 anti-aircraft missiles, were hidden inside four containers concealed by a diesel tank with a capacity of 100,000 litres.
“The source said that the ship, with its cargo, was handed over to eight Yemeni crew in Iran to deliver it to the Yemeni shores,” Saba said.
The agency said the weapons were now being unloaded and sorted and the crew questioned.
“The results will be published after the contents of the ship are unloaded and sorted,” it added.
Gulf Arab governments and Sunni clerical allies accuse regional Shi’ite Muslim power Iran of backing co-religionist communities around the region, and Sanaa has also accused Iran of trying to meddle in Yemeni affairs.
Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi snubbed a visiting Iranian envoy last year to signal “displeasure” after Sanaa said it uncovered an Iranian-led spy ring in the capital.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the seizure of the ship demonstrates “ever pernicious Iranian meddling in other countries in the region”.
Iran denies any interference in Yemen’s affairs.
Analysts and diplomats believe the Houthis, named after their leaders’ family, have turned Yemen into a new front in a long struggle between Iran and Western powers and the Arab regimes they support.
Earlier in January, the U.S. envoy to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, was quoted as accusing Iran of working with southern secessionists seeking to restore the country that merged with North Yemen in 1990. Yemen is also grappling with an al Qaeda insurgency in the centre and south of the country.
Its location flanking top oil producer Saudi Arabia – Iran’s Sunni Muslim regional adversary – and major shipping lanes have made restoring its stability an international priority.
Yemen’s government said in a statement issued by the Yemeni embassy in Washington last Monday that the shipment was intercepted in Yemeni waters, close to the Arabian Sea. It said Yemeni Coast Guard officials boarded the vessel, which flew multiple flags and had eight Yemeni crew members on board.
“Authorities are continuing to investigate the vessel’s shipping route by analysing navigation records found on board the ship,” the statement said. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Jason Webb)
