A news site belonging to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) revealed a plan (Arabic link) by which Iran intends to gain control over Yemen. The plan lists three different tactics that the rebel Houthi Shiites in Yemen “have to take” in order to conquer the whole country.

According to the Amarion website (Persian link), the first tactic is to use buzzwords that address Yemeni citizen’s concerns and meet the requirements of “the street,” such as freedom, justice and fighting corruption. The site claims that use of these slogans will increase the popularity of the Houthis among the majority Sunni population and help them take control of the various institutions in the country without significant popular resistance.

The second tactic mentioned in the Iranian plan is the establishment of “popular committees” similar to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards committees, in order to conduct security tasks both within and outside the cities that are already ruled by rebel Yemeni Houthis. According to the Iranian website, this step will facilitate the merger of the Houthis with the army and the other Yemeni security forces in the future.

The third tactic is a declaration on war against economic corruption. Through the struggle against corruption, the Houthis will strengthen their political presence and power among the Yemenite Sunnis.

The IRGC ended their recommendations by saying that the Yemeni revolution has not been completed yet and that complete victory will be achieved only if the tactics presented above are realized.

Since September 2014 the Shiites, who make up roughly 40 percent of Yemen’s population, have dominated by force of arms the key institutions in the capital of Sanaa. Although they signed a truce with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and pledged to withdraw from the capital, they continue to exert control over the country and its institutions.

[Photo: 0aali0 / Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0]