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Source: http://jcpa.org/article/iran-targets-yemen/
Iran Targets Yemen
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Michael Segall - Iran regards Yemen as a springboard for subversion and for creating a tangible threat to Saudi Arabia. Iran also seeks to establish a physical Iranian presence, ground and naval, in the countries and ports of the Red Sea littoral, which control the shipping (and weapon-supply) lanes leading from the Persian Gulf to the heart of the Middle East and to Europe. According to U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein, the U.S. has evidence that the Iranians are providing military assistance and trainers to several groups in Yemen, conveyed via Lebanese Hizbullah and Hamas. Islamic Iran is actively involved in the region's primary crisis centers. These include Syria, where Iran backs Bashar Assad through thick and thin; Bahrain, where Iran calls for the overthrow of the Royal House and supports the Shia demonstrators; and Yemen, where Iran is active in attempts to create a new order that is not based on support for the West. The weakness of the Arab regimes, the lack of an Arab power center since the "Arab Spring" broke out, and the decline of America's status in the Middle East are bringing Iran closer to its goal. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center.