MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis | 1161 | May 19, 2015
May 19, 2015 Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1161
Iranian Attempt To Break The Saudi Sea Blockade On Yemen Could Lead To
Violent Confrontation
By: A. Savyon and H. Varulkar*
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8570.htm
Introduction
The Iranian ship Nejat ("Rescue"), which Iran says is bringing humanitarian
aid, is set to arrive at the Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah on May 21, 2015.
Aboard it are Iranian representatives, including Majlis member Dr. Mohammed
Sadeghi, who fought with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in
Iraq during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war;[1] members of the Iranian media, and
activists from France, Germany, and the U.S. Prior to the ship's departure,
the peace activists announced to the Iranian media that they were
enthusiastic supporters of the regime of Iran's Islamic Revolution, and that
they were willing to die in their mission to bring humanitarian aid to
Yemen.[2]
Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that the Nejat was joined by two
Iranian warships last night.
Yemen's sea and air ports have been under siege since the beginning of
Operation Decisive Storm.
The Saudi Position On The Iranian Vessel's Attempt To Enter Yemen
The Saudis are allowing humanitarian aid into Yemen only after inspection to
ascertain that weapons are not being smuggled in to the Houthis.
Brig.-Gen. Ahmad Al-'Asiri, spokesman for the Arab coalition's Operation
Renewal of Hope and Saudi defense adviser, told Al-Jazeera by phone on May
11: "The coalition forces have the right to conduct a search" of the vessel.
He added: "After we ascertain that its cargo [indeed comprises humanitarian
aid] we will allow it to proceed to its destination."[3]
In a May 12 statement, Al-'Asiri stressed, "The Arab coalition will not
allow any vessel to reach Yemen without coordinating with us," and
clarified: "The Saudi land forces are on alert to deal with any attack." He
said that the coalition was issuing permits to bring in aid to Yemen in
coordination with the U.N., and that Iran can send its aid to Yemen via the
U.N.[4] Under this arrangement, the Saudis have allowed several aid ships
that passed inspection to enter the port.[5]
On May 13, Al-'Asiri said: "Another country [i.e. Iran] seeks [to bring in]
aid [to Yemen] by force, in violation of the decision by the Yemeni
government and the Arab coalition that the Yemeni government has authorized
the latter to deter all violations. This constitutes a violation of
international law."[6] In another conversation with Al-Jazeera, on May 14,
Al-'Asiri warned Iran against any attempt to bring in aid by force, saying
that "any attempt by any country" to do so "will be considered a precedent
in this kind of crisis and under international law."[7]
Also, Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin implied in a May 13 phone
conversation with Al-Jazeera that all means would be used against the
Iranian vessel should it try to break the blockade. He placed all
responsibility for any violation of the blockade on the Iranian regime, and
added that Yemen had authorized the coalition to deter any violation.[8]
Also on May 13, Yassin told the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
that Yemen's Foreign Ministry had given no permission to the Iranian ship to
proceed to Al-Hudaydah port. He explained that the coalition countries had
set up sites for inspecting aid shipments via sea and air before they could
enter Yemen. Ships must first go to Djibouti for inspection, and aircraft
are searched at airports in some of the coalition countries.
He said: "Yemen's Foreign Ministry, which is operating temporarily from
Riyadh, has granted many entry permits to the aid and humanitarian
organizations [whose delegations] arrived recently at Sana'a airport after
contacting the ministry...
"The Iranian vessel's advance towards Yemen, which is not authorized by the
Yemeni government or the coalition countries," he said, "constitutes a clear
provocation to the international community." He added: "We must know the
identity of the passengers on the ship, what their roles are, and whether or
not they are going to go back [to their countries]... On board this ship,
there are 60 Iranians and seven foreigners from human rights organizations,
and they do not have visas to enter Yemen. Therefore, their entry is
illegal, and they must be held fully responsible for this."[9]
On May 16, 2015, Yassin told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that another Iranian ship had
turned back to Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, after the UN demanded that
Tehran allow its cargo to be inspected. He said: "The ship's return [to
Iran]... indicates that it had contraband on board."[10]
He also underlined an April 28, 2015 incident in which a civilian Iranian
plane from Oman attempted to land at Sana'a airport without
authorization,[11] which ended with the runway being bombed by Arab
coalition jets. Noting that while all the countries and aid organizations
obey laws without causing provocation, "Tehran's insistence on violating
Yemeni airspace, and its attempt to land at Sana'a airport, led to the
destruction of [the airport's] runway, out of fear that [Iran] would [use
it] to carry out their plans. The same will apply for Iran's declaration
that it will not allow inspection of the vessel that it is claiming carries
humanitarian aid."[12]
Additionally, the Yemeni mission to the UN sent a letter to the Security
Council warning that if Iran does not allow inspection, it will bear full
responsibility for any incident resulting from the vessel's attempt to enter
Yemen's territorial waters.[13]
Iran's Position On The Vessel's Attempt To Break The Blockade
Iran, which supports the Houthis and has already sent them weapons,[14] does
not recognize the Saudis' authority to enforce the blockade, particularly
their authority to stop humanitarian aid from entering. It argues that the
ship's entry into Yemen has already been coordinated with the UN.
On May 16, 2015, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
said: "Saudi Arabia cannot make decisions for the countries aiding Yemen or
for the UN."[15]
In a May 19 Al-Manar TV interview, and in a May 16 Tehran press conference,
respectively,[16] Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei, and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham also
rejected the Saudi demand to inspect the vessel.
Iranian spokesmen have also threatened that any Saudi attempt to attempt to
stop the ship would trigger an Iranian response. In a May 12 interview with
Iran's Arabic-language channel Al-'Alam, Iranian Army Deputy Chief of Staff
Masoud Jazayeri said: "I explicitly state that the Islamic Republic of
Iran's restraint has its limits. The new rulers in Saudi Arabia, the
Americans, and the others should note that if they wish to again disrupt the
Islamic Republic of Iran's attempts to provide aid to countries in the
region, it will spark a conflagration there that they will certainly be
unable to contain."[17]
On May 17, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee head Ala
Al-Din Boroujerdi told the Iranian news agency Fars: "The Iranian decision
is exact and very courageous... Saudi Arabia and the coalition countries
have no right to inspect this ship or to prevent it [from reaching Yemen]...
Iran will respond very decisively and strongly to any interruption by
aggressive countries.[18]
The U.S. Position On The Dispute
On May 12, 2015, the U.S., which supports the coalition blockade on Yemen,
asked Iran to divert the vessel to the UN aid distribution hub in Djibouti,
instead of trying to break the blockade to reach Al-Hudaydah.[19]
Assessment
In MEMRI's assessment, neither Iran nor the Saudis are going to back down in
this matter. Saudi Arabia will only allow the Iranian vessel through after
it undergoes Saudi inspection, and Iran will not permit the Saudis to board
it. Either a violent confrontation or a Saudi takeover of the ship is
likely.
It should be noted that the Iranians would like the Saudis to instigate a
violent confrontation, in which Iran would play the role of a provider of
humanitarian aid that is being attacked.
This tense scenario could erupt into a localized conflict at sea that could
escalate to a broader confrontation in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere
in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has, in recent days, made diplomatic efforts. Alongside this
Iranian provocation, it convened the May 18-19 Riyadh summit, an
intra-Yemeni dialogue among all Yemeni political parties except the Houthis,
passing resolutions backing the position of Saudi Arabia and the coalition
for resolving the Yemen crisis on several levels – domestic, regional, and
international – via the UN.
Under these circumstances, it can be assumed that the U.S. will intervene to
try to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis; such a solution might be
attainable, although in light of the stances of both sides, this cannot be
certain. However, even if a last-minute diplomatic solution is found, this
skirmish could exacerbate the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran
and lead to a violent escalation at some point in the near future.
In this context, it should be mentioned that the five-day ceasefire that
began on May 12 has not been renewed, and, according to Yemeni Foreign
Minister Yassin, the ceasefire collapsed following violations by the
Houthis – thus legitimizing the ongoing Saudi airstrikes against them.
The Iranian Vessel: Photos
Iranian passengers, including Majlis member Dr. Mohammad Sadeghi, board the
Nejat, passing under a Koran (Source: Kazeroonkhabar.ir, May 16, 2015)
Caleb Maupin, who describes himself on his website as a "radical journalist
& political analyst," pre-boarding (Source: Rasa News, Iran, May 13, 2015)
German national Christoph Hörstel on board (Source: Tasnim, Iran, May 19,
2015)
Iranian reporters and foreign activists on board (Source: Tasnim, Iran, May
16, 2015)
*A. Savyon is director of MEMRI's Iran Media Project; H. Varulkar is
Director of Research at MEMRI
Endnotes:
[1] Sadeghi was also aboard the Iranian aircraft that attempted to land at
Sana'a airport on April 28, 2015; in this incident, Saudi and coalition
aircraft bombed the runway. Marebonline.com, Mashreghnews.ir, May 5, 2015.
[2] German activist Christoph Hörstel, on board the ship, told the Iranian
news agency Fars: "I Iove Iran very much, and I believe that the Rule of the
Jurisprudent in Iran represents the most important political change in the
world in the last century... My wife is even willing to deal with the news
that I have been killed for the goal that I have chosen... For years I was
in the Afghanistan war alongside the mujahideen and I have experience with
this kind of risk." Fars, May 18, 2015. In an interview with Tasnim on May
17, 2015, Hörstel said: "If the Americans had any sense, they would
accompany the Nejat and not interfere with hit at all, because today the
eyes of the entire world are on how it acts towards it." U.S. activist Caleb
Maupin said: "I love Iran and Iran's Islamic Revolution... We have all
thought about [being killed on our mission]. Before this trip, even I
thought about the possibility that I will die, and I have prepared myself
for it." Mashregh, Iran, May 16, 2015.
[3] Aljazeera.net, May 11, 2015.
[4] Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 12, 2015.
[5] SPA.gov.sa, May 18, 2015.
[6] Aljazeera.net, May 13, 2015.
[7] Aljazeera.net, May 14, 2015.
[8] Aljazeera.net, May 13, 2015.
[9] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 13, 2015.
[10] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 16, 2015.
[11] Marebonline.com, Mashreghnews.ir, May 5, 2015.
[12] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 16, 2015.
[13] Aljazeera.net, May 13, 2015.
[14] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No. 1155, Iran's Support For
The Houthi Rebellion In Yemen: 'Without Iran There Would Be No War In Syria
And Ansar Allah Would Have Never Emerged', April 21, 2015.
[15] Mehr (Iran), May 16, 2015.
[16] Iribnews.ir, May 19, 2015; ISNA (Iran), May 16, 2015.
[17] Al-'Alam (Iran), May 12, 2015.
[18] Fars (Iran), May 17, 2015.
[19] Voice of America, May 12, 2015.
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