The Telegraph: Houthi rebels trained at elite Iranian academy

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have fired missiles at a British Navy ship in the Red Sea, trained at an elite Iranian naval academy.

“Some 200 mercenaries, who control swathes of Yemen, were sent to the leading naval institution in Iran to receive instruction from Revolutionary Guard officials”, according to the UK-based paper The Telegraph.

A group of 200 travelled to the Khomeini Academy of Naval Sciences and Technology in Ziba Kenar on the Caspian coastline, sources inside Iran told The Telegraph. The claim was verified by multiple defence sources.

On January 10, Britain was considering retaliatory strikes on land targets in Yemen, The Telegraph understands.

UK and US naval forces shot down missiles and drones in the Red Sea on the night of January 9, believed to be fired by the Houthis in support of Hamas.

At least one missile directly targeted a Royal Navy battleship for the first time, prompting a threat of retaliation by Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary.

British and US sources said Western officials were drawing up options for a retaliatory attack, including hitting Houthi rebel positions in Yemen.

Houthi rebels declared war on Israel shortly after the October 7 Hamas attacks. They are believed to be backed and armed by Iran.

A section is dedicated to the six-month training course for foreign mercenaries under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) Quds Force, including the Houthis.

The academy was established in 2013 and within four years, all IRGC naval training, including that of Iran’s proxies, was transferred there. The first course for Houthis in naval science and technology was launched in January 2020, and the Houthis were housed separately from other students, who were barred from interacting with them to prevent intelligence leaks.

Farur Island, a small, uninhabited island in the middle of the Persian Gulf controlled by the IRGC Navy, is also used for training Iran’s mercenaries.

An international coalition has launched patrols in the Red Sea to protect merchant vessels, and warned on January 3 that “Houthis will bear the responsibility for the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, or the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways”.