MESOP : ON BEHALF OF IRAN – Syrian regime coordinates military training with Yemeni Houthis

March 9, 2015 – ARA News – Damascus, Syria – A delegation from the pro-Assad Syrian National Defense Army visited Yemen last week through Beirut International Airport, private sources told ARA News.

“Such visits are aimed to increase coordination between the Syrian regime and the Houthi group in Yemen and plan to bring the latter’s members to Syria in order to receive military training as well as to exchang security information between the two sides,” a regime-linked source told ARA News on condition of anonymity. Speaking to ARA News, the Syrian journalist Mazen Jerdi said that social media networking sites recently published pictures of Khamenei, the Islamic Republic guide, in the streets of the Yemeni cities, as well as pictures of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad which were raised by Houthi protesters there. “It’s no more secret that strong relations link the Houthis with both Iran and the Assad regime, and such mutual relations will definitely include military exercises under the direct supervision of Iranian authorities,” Jerdi argued, pointing out that the Houthis will thus lead Yemen and will threaten the southern region of Saudi Arabia as part of the strategic policy of Iran. In the meantime, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi told reporters on Saturday that the capital Sanaa is currently occupied by the Houthis, and declared the city of Aden as Yemen’s temporary symbolic capital. – Reporting by: Adel Hassan – Source ARA News