US envoy: Iran must be prevented from consolidating its influence in Yemen
English - Tuesday 10 September 2019 الساعة 05:46 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
The US special envoy to Iran, Brian Hawk, warned of the dangers of Iranian expansion in the region, pointing out that Iran is seeking to reproduce the Lebanese experience in Yemen.
Hawk confirmed that Iran should be prevented from consolidating its influence in Yemen, in parallel with restricting Iranian expansion in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
"The world must face Iran's ambitions, otherwise the Iranian crescent will become a full moon," Hawk said in an article in The Wall Street Journal.
The US warning comes to warn of the dangers of Iranian cross-border influence extending from Lebanon, Syria and Iraq to Yemen.
Hawk talked about a major game played by Tehran in Yemen, which would lead to an international failure to deal with it to great risks, especially the "Lebanonization" of the country, that is, the reproduction of the Lebanese experience.
Hawk proceeded from Iran's support for Hezbollah militia in Lebanon to explain his point of view. It began with the support of radical sectarian groups in the early 1980s, the most violent of which were later combined into a single organization called Hezbollah.
Thanks to Iran's financially and militarily generous support, the party became a state within the state and served as Iran's gateway to expand its influence in Lebanon.
The same game is played by Tehran today in Yemen, according to the US official: "Here, the Iranians had the upper hand in the outbreak of war by inciting them to the coup of the Houthi militia.
In Hook's view, Iran is using Yemen today to strengthen its regional standing. What is more dangerous is that it is using its alliance with the Houthis to threaten the arrival of a quarter of the world's oil supplies by controlling the Straits of Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz.
Hawk, who has criticized his country's poor media coverage of Iran's role in prolonging the tragic conflict in Yemen, has come to the obvious conclusion: "Preventing Iran from establishing itself in Yemen is a necessity, not a choice."
