• The Houthis possess a considerable arsenal of weapons, including missiles and drones.
• Yemeni rebels could not have done it without foreign help, according to a new UN report.
• The Houthis have used these weapons to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi rebels could not have amassed their dangerous arsenal of weapons without extensive help from Iran and its allied forces in the Middle East, according to a new United Nations report.

In the extensive report, which was delivered to the UN Security Council last month, a panel of experts concluded that the Yemen-based Houthis have been receiving training, weapons, technical assistance and financial support from Iran, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi armed groups. .

The Houthis are behind a year-long campaign Targeting key routes for merchant shipping. in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have launched more than 130 attacks (mainly using missiles and drones) against commercial companies and Western warships.

The rebels have attacked several commercial ships during his campaign, sinking two of them and kidnapping one (almost a year later, its crew is still detained in Yemen). So far, four sailors have died as a result of the attacks.

The panel of experts said in its report that the Houthis have exploited the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and, through their attacks, have sought to improve their status within Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” a group of forces proxy around the Middle East.

The Houthis held a military parade in September 2023, during which the group He had a formidable arsenal anti-ship missiles, ballistic and cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, aerial drones, naval drones, speedboats, surveillance systems and mines.

However, experts said the Houthis do not have the capacity to produce and develop complex weaponry like that without foreign help. They also said the rebels likely received outside assistance in identifying, locating and attacking commercial vessels, as many of them turned off their automatic identification systems before entering the area.

“The scale, nature and scope of transfers of various military materials and technology provided to the Houthis from external sources, including financial support and training of their fighters, are unprecedented,” the experts wrote in their report.

US naval forces have repeatedly intercepted ships attempting to illegally smuggle weapons from Iran to the Houthis. One such mission in January resulted in the seizure of ballistic and cruise missile parts.

The Pentagon has maintained a naval presence in and around the Red Sea during the Houthi campaign, during which American warships have routinely intercepted their missiles and drones. Additionally, US forces have carried out major air strikes against the rebels in Yemen.

The U.N. panel of experts said U.S. and British forces together have destroyed more than 800 Houthi missiles and drones and destroyed command posts, radars and weapons storage facilities.