Iran Turns to Houthis As Hezbollah Looks for Exit Ramp

As we reported earlier, Iran's state media claimed they were cutting off talks with the U.S. because of Israel's attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Except they left out how Hezbollah has been attacking Israel, and that's not supposed to be a part of the ceasefire in any event. Plus, they themselves were firing at American bases in Kuwait. So their claims took a lot of gall.

But now, the Iranian regime is really asking to restart the military action against them with their latest move.

An Iranian news outlet closely linked with the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps indicated Monday that the Iranian regime had given its Houthi rebel allies in Yemen the nod to start attacking commercial shipping via another key Middle Eastern waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

The Tasnim news agency said the regime halted talks with the U.S. and gave the Houthis marching orders.

Iran and its regional proxy forces "have placed on their agenda the complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the activation of other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait," Tasnim said, calling the decisions a bid to "punish" Israel and its supporters for the ongoing Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Iran had threatened at least three times during the war to have its Houthi allies attack the shipping lanes of Bab el-Mandeb.

While the Houthis have caused trouble in the area before, they have not so far been involved in response to Operation Epic Fury. The regime has threatened to deploy them before, but this appears to be a specific direction.

But as Ed Morrissey at our sister site Hot Air points out, the Houthis really don't have the same ability to make trouble as they have had in the past.

First, the Houthis required Iranian targeting information provided by its blue-water naval vessels to threaten shipping in this region. The US has destroyed Iran's blue-water navy, and the Houthis lack sophisticated targeting for their weapons without spotters. Also, the US and Israel have destroyed much of that infrastructure at various times, and now the Houthis are even more exposed to retaliatory fire now that the Iranian navy and air force have been neutralized. Plus, the Bab el-Mandeb strait is nowhere near as vulnerable to shutdowns as the Strait of Hormuz. The geography is much simpler and the international waterways are more defensible.

So it may be Iranian saber-rattling, as they tend to do.

Then, too, it sounds like Hezbollah is more concerned about its own survival and may not be completely on the same track with its masters in Iran, if this new report is true.

According to Barak Ravid, they have signaled to the Lebanese government that they will comply with a separate ceasefire, including disarmament:
The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, told the Trump administration on Sunday that Hezbollah is ready for a full and immediate ceasefire with Israel and pledged to guarantee its implementation, Berri's top adviser Ali Hamdan told Axios. ...
Berri is one of the most powerful Shia politicians in Lebanon and has close links to Hezbollah, though U.S. and Israeli officials question whether he can actually guarantee Hezbollah's compliance.
If Hezbollah is indeed ready for a full ceasefire, such a truce would leave the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in place for now while potentially disconnecting the Lebanese arena from the war with Iran.

One of the reasons is that Israel has made significant gains against Hezbollah, even capturing. 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and a strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, the military said.

So Hezbollah may be trying to avoid getting completely crushed.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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