Iran expert Vardan Voskanyan says the advances made by Iran-allied Ansarallah in Yemen are strategic rather than merely tactical in nature for the broader Middle East. In his view, the developments are already having a wide regional impact.
Voskanyan writes that Ansarallah’s actions have effectively resulted in an oil blockade of Saudi Arabia and have exposed the ineffectiveness of the recently formed “Islamic NATO” involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.
He argues that Israel’s Eilat port on the Red Sea has, in practice, lost its significance. He also says Egypt could face economic difficulties if cargo traffic through the Suez Canal declines.
According to Voskanyan, rising oil prices in Syria have already led to mass anti-government protests. He says this is creating visible risks for the country’s internal political stability and, in turn, threatens the strengthening of Turkey’s position inside Syria.
He adds that these developments have been driven by Iran-allied Ansarallah, which he describes as a force shaped by Zaydi Shia ideology. In his account, the movement’s ideological father, Hussein al-Houthi, who received religious education in Iran, maintained that peace is won through war rather than surrender.
