April 21, 2017
The Islamic Republic has long denied ever providing arms to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and accusing the United States of lying for saying so. But now here is a video circulating in which Mehdi Taeb (photo), a cleric who heads a think tank, says Iranian efforts to arm the Houthis go back years. The video is basically a campaign ad supporting the Principleists opposed to President Rohani. So, it needs to be taken with some skepticism. But, in it, Taeb complains that the nuclear agreement prevents Iran from sending surface-to-surface missiles to the Houthis. It does not, but a UN Security Council resolution approved in 2010 bars Iran from exporting weapons. Taeb criticizes Rohani for agreeing to such a limitation. But the UN resolution was approved three years before Rohani took office. Taeb said the weapons for the Houthis were even blocked before the nuclear agreement with the Big Six. He said, “We tried to deliver the missiles three times and we were about to but they suddenly retreated because the Americans threatened to suspend the negotiations.” That seems unlikely as US Secretary of State John Kerry was constantly saying that the negotiations only involved the nuclear issue and nothing else.
