Conflict in Yemen: a little-known Iran/Saudi Arabia front

            The Middle East is the scene of ancient rivalries that have taken a disturbing turn in recent decades, particularly since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. These tensions are the consequence of ethical, religious and economic oppositions for the domination of the region by one or other of the powers involved. Indeed, on the one hand, the Arab countries of the Sunni Muslim faith, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iraq - which have had quite conflicting relations for several centuries - and on the other, Turkey, also Sunni but of a different ethnicity from the Arabs, which is still opposed on many points. There is also Iran, a Muslim country, Shiite however, a sworn enemy of the Sunnis, allied to Lebanon, whose history is more affiliated with the Catholic Christians of the West, but governed by Shiites. Finally, at the centre of this unstable region is the young, Jewish Israeli state, which seems determined to reclaim the territories lost under Roman rule from 63 BC. The situation is increasingly critical, especially since several crises have erupted in the last century and in this one: the 1948 war, the 1956 Suez war, the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1967 War of Attrition, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1982 First Lebanon War, and the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Today, one of the main areas of tension and concern is a small country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen.

            Ravaged by a civil war since 2014, and for the second time since 1994[3]The conflict in Yemen is less publicised than in Iraq and Syria. The opposing parties are, on the one hand, the Houthis, who control a large part of the north of the country (including the capital Sana'a), and, on the other hand, the Yemeni governmental forces loyal to President Hadi in exile, who are mainly present in the south and east of Yemen[4]. Other belligerents are involved, such as the separatists of the Southern Transitional Council, who control Aden and its surroundings[5].

            By analysing the causes and the course of this war, we notice that Yemen, despite being the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, is above all a strategic location[6]. Indeed, located along the Bab el Mandeb Strait, halfway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, it is a crossroads for maritime traffic from the Suez Canal (Egypt), the Gulf of Aqaba (Saudi Arabia and Israel) and the Indian Ocean[7]. It is located opposite Djibouti, home to French, American and Chinese military bases, and Somalia, which faces both piracy and Islamic radicalism[8].

            The reason why this armed conflict is to be taken seriously, beyond the deaths it causes, is that it concerns the poorest region of the peninsula in the whole of the Arab world, but a strategic one. Indeed, lying at the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, halfway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Yemen is an important maritime commercial crossroads for all goods coming from the Suez Canal, which is controlled by Egypt, from the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared by Israel and Saudi Arabia, but also from the Indian Ocean.

            Currently, two powers are vying for control of Yemen: Iran and Saudi Arabia[9]. The Houthis, Shiites like the majority of Iranians, are supported logistically and militarily by Tehran, and even have the support of the Lebanese Hezbollah, also supported by Iran[10]. This Iranian support represents a danger for Riyadh, which sees it as a manoeuvre of encirclement on the part of the Shiites, while tensions are already at their height between it and Tehran. Tensions present in other Arab countries, such as Bahrain, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon[11]. These problems are the pretext invoked by Saudi Arabia for its intervention in the Yemeni conflict since 2015, forming a coalition with several allied countries and increasing the number of raids on the areas controlled by the Houthis (Operations Decisive storm and Restoring hope)as well as through military support to Yemeni government forces[12]. The United Arab Emirates, an ally of Riyadh, supports the separatist forces in the South, also rivals of the Houthis[13].

            The belligerents have received a great deal of foreign support in terms of armaments. In the case of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has benefited from American and British support, notably for the training of its fighter pilots for aircraft manufactured by the United States or by Europe[14] - i.e. by France with the sales of Rafales. On the maritime front, Saudi Arabia also has European and American equipment[15]. 15] The Saudis are also seeking to replenish their missile supplies from the Americans[16]. Apart from the United States and Great Britain, France, Canada, Italy and Spain are also supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition[17]. Belgium is also among the European countries that have authorised exports to Saudi Arabia[18]. The Saudi Kingdom, due to its involvement in the war in Yemen, is the world's largest importer of arms, with an increase of 61% in its supply between 2016 and 2020[19]. Riyadh has purchased nearly €1.4 billion worth of war materials from France, and French weapons have been found in Yemen[20]. 20] Saudi Arabia was Italy's third largest customer in the Middle East and North Africa last year. 21] The serial numbers on the recovered bomb fragments indicated that they were manufactured by the Italian company RWM, a subsidiary of the German Rheinmetall.

            Gulf allies are supplied with modern weapons by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates[23]. In contrast, in Yemen, the weapons used by the Yemeni army are mainly of Russian design, while the Houthis benefit from Iranian support through the delivery of missiles and anti-tank weapons[24]. The Houthis have recently acquired a new type of Delta drone and a new model of land-based cruise missile[25]. The Houthis have several types of drones, some of them locally manufactured: the Samad-3, which can be equipped with 18kg of explosives, with a range of 1,500 kilometres, and a top speed of 250 km/hour; the Qasef-1 and Qasef-2, with a range of 150 km for a load of 30 kg of explosives; and finally, short-range reconnaissance drones such as the Rased (35 km), Hudhhud (30 km) and Raqib (15 km)[26].  

            Like Lebanon with Hezbollah, Iraq with its pro-Iranian militias, Syria with Al Assad, Yemen is one of the main fronts opposing Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran[27]. It is not only a civil war, but also a war of influence[28]. In addition, the Yemeni conflict has left the country economically drained[29]. In addition to the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, people are often deprived of international aid, diverted by both the Houthis and the central government[30]. According to the director of the World Food Programme (WFP), in the capital of Sana'a alone, only 40 % of donations are reaching needy citizens, and only a third is receiving aid in the northern bastion of the rebel militia[31].

            In recent months, the stalemate in which this conflict has fallen, the Houthi bombardment of Saudi and Emirati territories, see Saudi Arabia and Iran multiplying negotiations in order to normalise their relations, broken since 2016, and end the fighting[32]. Their results remain uncertain...

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