MEMRI Special Dispatch | 6008 | March 26, 2015

Immediate Iranian Reaction To Sunni Arab Military Campaign To Push Back
Shi'ite Expansion: Calls For Houthis To Attack Saudi Oil Wells And Tankers,
Operate In Saudi Territory And Straits Of Bab Al-Mandeb And Hormuz

Immediately following the launch of Saudi-led Sunni Arab coalition attacks
on the Houthi rebels in Yemen on March 26, 2015, Tehran – the patron of
Yemen's Shi'ite Houthis, to whom it provides comprehensive military and
financial support – threatened Saudi Arabia and warned that the attack would
harm it to the point that its own regime would collapse. These threats were
voiced by both of Iran's political camps.

The website Khabar Online, which is affiliated with Iran's pragmatic camp,
led by Expediency Council Chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and
President Hassan Rohani, called on the Houthis to launch an all-out attack
on oil fields, tankers, and industrial facilities in Saudi Arabia, as well
as to operate deep inside Saudi territory and conduct retaliatory strikes
against Saudi interests in the Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb, the Red Sea, and
even the Strait of Hormuz. The website also called on members of the
resistance axis to use Saudi Arabia's focus on the Yemeni arena to inflict
losses upon it in other Shi'ite-Sunni conflict zones in the Middle East such
as Iraq, Syria, and Bahrain.

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee member Ismail Kothari
estimated that the Saudi attack on Yemen would lead to the collapse of the
Saudi regime, and called on the Saudi people to rise up against the Al-Saud
regime, which he claims launched the attack against Yemen's Houthis on
American-Israeli orders. The committee chairman, Ala Al-Din Boroujerdi,
warned Saudi Arabia that the war would spill over into its own territory.
Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Abbas Ka'bi predicted that Yemen would
become a quagmire for Saudi Arabia, and that it would not succeed in
imposing a Saudi-American puppet regime on the country.

On his way to Switzerland for another round of talks with U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif demanded to
immediately halt Saudi Arabia's Sunni-Arab coalition attacks on Yemen.

Khabar Online: The Houthis Now Have The Pretext To Launch Military
Operations And Retaliatory Strikes In Saudi Arabia, Bab Al-Mandeb, The Red
Sea, And Even The Strait Of Hormuz

On March 26, 2015, the website Khabar Online published an article titled
"The Attack on the Yemeni Revolution: The Arena Of Retaliation Stretches
From Bab Al-Mandeb To The Strait Of Hormuz", which stated: "Despite the fact
that Saudi Arabia gathered several countries... to ensure that the
implications of its attack on the popular revolution in Yemen would be
directed at a coalition of Arab countries, the consequences of this move
will undoubtedly be directed at its own interests. The Saudi-Western front
wants to restrict Ansar Allah to North Yemen and distance the Houthis from
[the Strait of] Bab Al-Mandeb. [Therefore,] it is possible that they would
go as far as splitting Yemen or occupying parts of the south to realize this
goal... Now the Houthis also have the necessary pretext to launch military
operations and retaliatory strikes deep inside Saudi territory, in Bab
Al-Mandeb, the Red Sea, and even the Strait of Hormuz. The foremost high
priority targets for them are the oil fields, tankers, and industry.

"The Saudis are unable to destroy the Houthis and the popular revolution in
Yemen and the Houthis are unable to invade Saudi Arabia and destroy it.
However, the Houthis have lived with such bombings for years. Two years ago,
[ousted Yemeni president] 'Ali 'Abdallah Saleh bombed their mountain
positions for months in coordination with Saudi Arabia, but the Houthis have
only grown stronger [since then]. The Saudis in their ivory towers are
undoubtedly more vulnerable than the Houthis and the Yemeni people.

"Riyadh's focus on Yemen and [their] high alert, which stems from the fear
of Houthi retaliation, could reduce their attention and focus on the other
fronts in the region, including Iraq, Syria, and Bahrain. This is a good
opportunity for the other fronts to grow stronger against Saudi Arabia. The
Saudis know full well that they cannot bear a war of attrition and it is
possible that they will seek a mediator for a political compromise in Yemen.
According to the famous saying, 'he who starts [the war] is not necessarily
the one who ends it,' we must see whether the Houthis will be prepared to
end this new chapter that the Saudis mistakenly started or not."[1]

Majlis Officials: The War Will Not Be Confined To Yemeni Territory; Saudi
Arabia's Attack Will Lead To Its Own Collapse

In an interview with the Fars news agency on March 26, 2015, Majlis National
Security and Foreign Policy Committee member Ismail Kothari, who is a former
member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said: "In the first
days, Saudi Arabia will be ostensibly successful, but it will undoubtedly
suffer a blow that will lead to its collapse. The Saudi army is being aided
by the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Egypt, but [the security of] these countries
is itself questionable. America and Israel are the chief decision-makers of
the Saudi military attack against Yemen and are in charge of the means and
the policy planning on this matter. The Saudi people must protest since this
attack will harm Saudi Arabia itself as well."[2]

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Ala Al-Din
Boroujerdi added that the attack was carried out with American authorization
and that "Saudi Arabia is igniting a new war in the region as part of its
disregard for and irresponsibility towards the problems of the Islamic
ummah. The smoke from this fire will get in Saudi Arabia's eyes, since war
is never confined to a single point."[3]

Assembly Of Experts Member: Yemen Will Become A Quagmire For The Aggressors

Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Abbas Ka'bi told the Fars news agency
on March 26, 2015: "The purpose of this attack is to impose a Saudi-American
puppet regime on the Yemeni people... This military attack will pave the
road to the presence of ISIS, takfiris, and Al-Qaeda in Yemen. The attacking
forces will undoubtedly be defeated and Yemen will become a quagmire for the
aggressors."[4]

Zarif: The Regional Countries Attacking Yemen And The West Are Becoming
Collaborators For Al-Qaeda And ISIS

In a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the outskirts of the
current round of nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S., Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said: "We call on all regional countries and
on the West to be careful to not become collaborators of Al-Qaeda and ISIS
in these shortsighted games... Since the start of the Yemen crisis, Iran has
demanded national dialogue among Yemeni circles and the establishment of a
unity government to combat terrorist extremism and takfiri circles. Iran
believes that this is the only way to solve the crisis in Yemen. We must
find a way to immediately stop this attack and launch dialogue to find a
solution. Iran has devoted all its efforts to limit and restrain this crisis
and with God's help, it will continue with these efforts."[5]



[1] Khabar Online (Iran), March 26, 2015.



[2] Fars (Iran), March 26, 2015.



[3] Majlesnews.ir, March 26, 2015. Another member of the committee,
Mohammad-Saleh Jokar, told the IRNA news agency that "the Saudi move will
lead to the fall of the Saudi regime." IRNA (Iran), March 26, 2015. Mosayeb
Naimi, editor of the Arabic-language Iranian daily Al-Vefagh told the Fars
news agency that "Yemen will not surrender. A massive revolution against
Saudi policy in the region will awaken... This military attack will trigger
popular rage among nations at Saudi Arabia." Fars (Iran), March 26, 2015.



[4] Fars (Iran), March 26, 2015.



[5] Tasnim (Iran), March 26, 2015.

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