Iranian Revolutionary Guard experts visit Houthi sites near Bab Al-Mandab

Two military sources affiliated with the Houthi militia told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that experts from Iran's Revolutionary Guard visited areas overlooking the Bab Al-Mandab Strait to discuss installing radar systems and oversee tunnel excavation in the surrounding mountain hills.

According to the sources, the experts' activities included the Bab Al-Mandab area, as well as the port and airport of Mokha, in addition to the Jabal Al-Nar military camp east of Mokha.

The sources said the Iranian experts, who are working with the Houthis, supervised tunnel digging in the hills overlooking Mokha and Bab Al-Mandab, and also discussed installing radar systems near Mokha and on Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea.

The sources explained that the experts arrived from Hodeidah and made separate visits to the area between Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government sources told AFP that fighting has intensified between the Houthis and government forces around the Kahbub mountains, which overlook the Bab Al-Mandab area.

The government sources added that the Houthis are seeking to seize control of the Kahbub mountains to strengthen their positions around the strategic strait.

These developments come amid ongoing escalation by the Houthi group against Yemen's internationally recognized government and as part of the Houthis' actions against Saudi Arabia since July, against the backdrop of the conflict between Iran and the United States in the Middle East.