Iran is not interested in promoting peaceful solutions in Yemen, the country’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Muammar Al-Eryani said.

Al-Eryani said that Iran is instead planning on taking control of the coastline extending from the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea in order to take over Bab Al-Mandab strait, according to state news agency Saba.

He added that Tehran’s regime has turned Yemen into a Houthi-controlled hub used to target neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE,  and trade ships along the coast.

They have also posed a threat on energy security after the Houthi militia waged attacks on stations distributing petroleum in Saudi’s Jeddah and Jazan and the UAE’s Al-Mussafah and Al-Dhafra areas in Abu Dhabi, said Al-Eryani.

He noted that the Houthis had also confessed to hijacking the UAE’s flagged cargo ship Rawabi, which was sailing off the coast of Yemen.

The coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen earlier this year said that it had destroyed 106 boats loaded with explosives aimed to carry out terrorist attacks along the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, Saba reported.

According to Al-Eryani, the escalation in attacks coincided with Iran’s increase in funding the Houthi militia with weapons and military supplies.

He added that US Marines seized shipments carrying 9,000 weapons in 2021, including rockets, while they were being transported to the Houthi militia in Yemen.

Al-Eryani said that the Houthis have been able to increase attacks with the help of ‘Iranian experts and Hezbollah’.