Riyadh 0
16 June 2020

The U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, posited that “Iran would love to see a version of Hizbollah on Saudi’s southern flank. That is their ambition. And this would, I think, help build out Iran’s goals to create the Shiite crescent that stretches from Beirut down to Yemen. And so we’re doing what we can to interdict weapons”. Contending that “the Iranian regime has not been held to account by the international community for what it has done to create one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes”, Hook argued that “the Huthis are a tribal militia that have been organised, trained and equipped for many years by Iran. And they did this while they were in the Iran deal”. Discussing negotiations, Hook claimed that “every time we bring these groups together, Iran is always hanging outside the conference room urging the Huthis to keep at it. And that has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, obstacle to winding down the war in Yemen, is Iran wants to keep attacking Saudi Arabia through a proxy. It’s no different from what they do in Lebanon with Hizbollah or with Palestine Islamic Jihad, or with Hamas, or with its PMF in Iraq, on and on. This is Iran’s playbook”.

Subscribe to Crisis Group’s Email Updates

Receive the best source of conflict analysis right in your inbox.