Iran backing Shi'ite rebels in northern Yemen

From a World Tribune INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING, Friday, August 27, 2010:

JERUSALEM — Israel has determined that Iran is acting to destabilize Yemen.

The Israeli intelligence community was said to have confirmed reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was helping Shi'ite rebels in their war against the regime of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Officials said IRGC was relaying weapons and training to the Believing Youth, which operates in northern Yemen near the border with Saudi Arabia.

"Even now it [Iran] controls bodies that function as a state within a state, in Lebanon, Yemen, the Palestinian Authority, and other places," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon said.

..."The Iranian regime spreads instability, supports terror, and oppresses its own people," Ayalon said. "It is impossible to accept atomic weapons in the hands of such a regime."

Officials said Ayalon was reflecting the assessment of the Israeli intelligence community that IRGC has established a presence in Yemen as well as in neighboring Eritrea. They said IRGC was using the Believing Youth to infiltrate neighboring Saudi Arabia, 10 percent of whose population is Shi'ite.

"There's also a possibility that Iran will make a military move against the Arab Gulf states and harm the flow of oil to the world, in which case the entire situation will degrade into widespread confrontations," Ayalon said.

Officials said Ayalon's address was meant to assure Iranians that Israel was a friend and that the Teheran regime marked a regional threat. They said Ayalon's broadcast was widely heard in Iran and the rest of the Gulf region.

"Israel bears no animosity towards the Iranian people," Ayalon said. "We have deep respect and aspire to cooperate with them to bring about a better reality in the region. The problem is intrinsic to the Iranian regime and its conduct, particularly regarding the nuclear issue."