On Monday, Yemen’s Houthi insurgents stated that they apprehended a “spy cell of American-Israeli origin,” days after the group, backed by Iran, held approximately a dozen United Nations (UN) personnel. A statement delivered on television by Abdel Hakim Al Khaiwani, the intelligence chief of the Houthis, disclosed that the alleged spy cell contained former staff of the US embassy in Yemen.
Al Khaiwani accused the so-called American-Israeli spy cell of long-standing espionage and sabotage activities targeted at both official and unofficial institutions in favour of their adversaries. He claimed that American officers and spy cell members leveraged their positions at the American embassy to orchestrate their sabotage operations. Even after the American embassy exited Sanaa, the accused continued driving their sabotage schemes, supposedly under the guise of international and UN organisations.
There was no immediate feedback from Israeli government officials regarding these allegations, while the UN chose not to comment. The US state department did not quickly respond to a comment request. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric mentioned ongoing efforts to secure the release of 11 detained employees from five different UN agencies and the UN emissary for Yemen.
During an array of operations, armed Houthi intelligence officers also took into custody three workers from the US-funded pro-democracy organisation, National Democratic Institute, and three employees of a local human rights group. This information was revealed by three representatives from Yemen’s internationally acknowledged government in discussions with Reuters on Friday.
Houthi’s Al Masirah TV shared several videos on its Telegram channel claiming to depict confessions from some of the detainees, a claim Reuters was unable to independently validate. The Houthis, who are in alignment with Iran, have launched assaults on Red Sea shipping, which they classify as acts of unity with Palestinians amid the Gaza conflict, drawing airstrikes from the US and Britain.
Over the last three years, they have held approximately 20 Yemeni staff members of the US embassy in Sanaa. The embassy halted operations in 2014.