Iran–Yemen relations
bilateral relations between Yemen and Iran
Ties between Iran and Yemen have largely been defined by the impact of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict on the Yemeni political atmosphere. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian government has been the strongest state supporter of Yemen's Houthis, which espouse Zaydi Shia Islam and comprise part of the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance" in the Middle East. In 2014, as part of the ongoing Yemeni crisis, the Houthis pushed Yemen's government out of power and have since controlled parts of Yemen surrounding the capital city of Sanaa and along the country's coast with the Red Sea; Iran recognized the Houthis' Supreme Political Council as the sole legitimate government of Yemen in 2019 and remains the only country to have an official diplomatic relationship with the movement. Iranian support for the Houthis has put the country at odds with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of the Aden-based Presidential Leadership Council, which has been backed by the Saudi Arabian intervention in the Yemeni civil war.
Among other countries, Saudi Arabia and the United States have repeatedly accused Iran of providing funding and weapons to Houthi militants in Yemen, and on one occasion claimed to have discovered Iranian-made weapons in seized Houthi caches. Alongside Iran itself, Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria, such as Hezbollah, have faced accusations of helping to prop up the Houthi government in Sanaa. On a number of occasions, the Iranian military has also deployed submarines and warships off of Yemen's coast along the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, ostensibly to conduct anti-piracy operations.
History
Medieval and early modern era
South Arabia (mostly comprising Yemen) was a territory contested between the Sasanian Empire and the Ethiopia-based Kingdom of Aksum. Following the Aksumite–Persian wars, it became a Sasanian territory, where a mixed community known as al-Abna' developed in the aftermath of marriages between Iranian soldiers and Arab women in the region. The community gradually assimilated into the society of the South Arabian Himyarite Kingdom, and later gained prominence for their activities during the rise of Islam.
“Iran–Yemen relations” enters the record as bilateral relations between Yemen and Iran. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Iran, Yemen and relations can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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