Houthi security forces have detained at least 15 Yemeni employees of international organizations including the United Nations, three officials of Yemen's internationally recognized government told Reuters on Friday.
In a series of raids on Thursday, armed Houthi intelligence officers detained nine UN employees, three employees of the US-funded pro-democracy group National Democratic Institute (NDI) and three employees of a local human rights group, the officials said.
Intelligence officers of the Houthi group, which controls the capital Sanaa and large parts of the north of the country, raided the homes and offices of these people, confiscating phones and computers.
The detained UN employees work for the human rights office and the office for humanitarian affairs, said the officials, from the internationally recognized government that controls mostly southern parts of Yemen.
The Houthis are closely aligned with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has a long history of detaining foreign nationals, often charging them with espionage, and using them as bargaining chips against Western governments.
Neither the UN office nor NDI immediately responded to a Reuters request for confirmation or comment. A Houthi spokesperson did not immediately comment.
The Houthis, who are aligned to Iran and have attacked shipping in the Red Sea drawing air strikes from the United States and Britain, have held around 20 Yemeni employees of the US embassy in Sanaa for the past three years. The embassy suspended operations in 2014.
Reporting by Reuters
The British, French and German letter did not explicitly threaten to "snap back" United Nations sanctions, but it noted that UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the nuclear deal and provided that power, expires on Oct. 18, 2025.
In its own letter, Iran rejected the European stance, noting then-US President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposed US economic sanctions on Iran, arguing they were within their rights to expand their nuclear work.
The effort by Britain, France and Germany, known informally as the E3, to ramp up pressure was also highlighted this week at the International Atomic Energy Agency, where they successfully pushed a resolution critical of Iran despite US reservations.
The E3 letter, which was dated June 3, referred to a report by the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, last month that cited Iran's nuclear advances violating the 2015 deal, including by expanding its stockpile and production rates of high enriched uranium. Iran, which has stockpiled more than 100 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, has enough fissile materials for 3-4 nuclear warheads if it decides to produce weapons.
However, Tehran’s overall reaction to the censure at the Board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been relatively low-key so far.
That 2015 nuclear deal, struck with the E3, China, Russia and the United States, limited Iran's ability to enrich uranium, a process that can yield fissile material for nuclear weapons. In return, the US, UN and European Union eased sanctions on Iran.
Tensions with Iran have increased since the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, other Iranian proxies have attacked US, Israeli and other Western targets, and Tehran has accelerated its nuclear program while limiting the UN nuclear watchdog's ability to monitor it.
"Iran's nuclear escalation has hollowed out the JCPOA, reducing its nonproliferation value," said the E3 letter seen by Reuters, referring to the 2015 deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"Iran's decision to take remedial measures was in full accordance with its inherent right ... in reaction to the United States' unlawful unilateral withdrawal," Iran's UN ambassador said a June 5 letter seen by Reuters.
Reuters quoted Western diplomats and other sources familiar with the E3 letter as saying that its purpose was to try to raise pressure on Iran within the Security Council and to buy time for a diplomatic solution before next year's expiry of their "snap back" power to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran.
The aim is to "take stock of Iran's nuclear advances, which have become unacceptable and are getting worse, and to increase pressure within the Security Council," said a source familiar with the letter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reports twice a year to the Council - traditionally in June and December - on the implementation of the 2015 resolution. The Security Council is due to discuss his next report on June 24.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the nonprofit Arms Control Association, told Reuters the letter may be a way to lay the groundwork for an eventual "snap back" of UN sanctions, though he stressed that a diplomatic solution is still possible.
"The E3 reference to the October 2025 date, when the option to snap back UN sanctions expires, and their communication to the Security Council suggest they are simply trying to establish the legal basis for possibly snapping back sanctions on Iran at a later point," said Kimball.
"However, such an option, especially in the wake of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, would likely not move Iran to cooperate but lead it to escalate, perhaps even by withdrawing from the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty," he said.
With reporting by Reuters
The sources, who Iran International has not identified for their protection, are connected to a security apparatus in the Middle East.
They allege these individuals are not declaring their identity and are armed with weapons on the ship in European ports, specifically: Constanta (Romania) , Valencia (Spain) , Ravenna (Italy), and Antwerp (Belgium).
Sources said these armed IRGC forces may use this method as a means to spy and collect information in Europe - all while reportedly bypassing sanctions.
The European Union (EU) has imposed numerous sanctions against the Islamic Republic - including individuals with the IRGC, government officials and entities. This is in response to Iran's human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and military support for Russia's war in Ukraine.
To date, 227 individuals and 42 entities have been sanctioned.
In May, the EU added new sanctions targeting persons and entities supplying, selling or involved in the transferring of Iran's missiles and drones in support of the Kremlin and for armed groups in the Middle-East and the Red Sea.
Defense and security analyst Farzin Nadimi, a Senior Fellow with the Washington Institute, said that onboard armed guards are usually not allowed in European ports, unless there is a reason, in which case they must identify themselves as per individual port regulations.
Iran International’s sources said the alleged IRGC men concealed themselves as ordinary seafarers to circumvent Iran’s sanctions to allegedly engage in nefarious activities. An action that violates International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, said Nadimi, who specializes in military affairs.
“They [armed guards] are needed only for the pirates…pirate infested waters,” said Nadimi.
“Many shipping corridors, shipping lanes or canals like the Suez Canal do not usually allow armed guards aboard commercial ships,” he added.
The IMO responded to Iran International’s investigation, stating in an email, that "Flag States set the level of security on board their ships and approve their ships’ security plans, including requirements for armed personnel. Port States will also set their own requirements for ships that want to dock in their ports."
Spain and Romania, for example, require a declaration and authorization of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) and weapons in their ports. This can only be in areas deemed ‘high risk’, which according to their port regulations online is "an area as defined in the Best Management Practices for Protection against Somalia Based Piracy (MSC.1/Circ.1339) unless otherwise defined by the flag State."
With regards to Iran, the IMO said it does “not have specific information on the use of armed personnel on IRI flag ships.”
Maritime "Smuggling"
Sources said the IRGC is transporting Quds forces and weaponry from Iran to Syria by sea before entering European ports.
Iran’s alleged use of armed IRGC men and smuggling weaponry for its proxies is likely in response to Israeli attacks on air and land infrastructure in Syria and Lebanon, according to Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran.
In 2021, the port of Latakia was targeted by air strikes, but Israel did not claim to be behind it. Though it is not unusual for Israel not to take responsibility for operations in Syria.
“They [Iran] are adjusting the routes, the smuggling routes that they have used in the past from land to air and now to maritime smuggling. And that's because Israel has targeted a lot of the land and air corridors,” said Brodsky.
A recent report by the Telegraph, citing sources in Israel, alleged that Iran uses European ports to provide cover for shipments of weapons to Hezbollah.
The unnamed sources told the British outlet that Hezbollah has received missiles and bombs on ships that go on to dock in European ports like Belgium, Spain and Italy. Those weapons are reportedly used to attack Israel.
“It goes to Hezbollah. It goes to militias in Syria. It goes to, Palestinian militant groups, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” said Brodsky.
Brodsky said the IRGC is highly skilled at smuggling arms, oil, people, and goods for its “nefarious purposes worldwide.”
In 2022, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned members of an international oil smuggling network that reportedly facilitated oil trades and generated revenue for Hezbollah and the IRCG-Qods Force.
Brodsky said the ships likely bypass customs with “payoffs” and attempts to make the cargo look “benign” embedding weapons, for example, in a ship meant for humanitarian cargo.
“These networks are predominantly for the Quds Force to ship illicit contraband and other kinds of products to avoid a paper trail and to try to legitimize the cargo that they're using,” said Brodsky.
Richard Goldberg, a Senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) said that Iran, especially since the October 7 massacre, is on a march to strengthen itself around the world and is on the offence.
Armed IRGC operatives on board these fleets is not surprising to Goldberg, but he said it is concerning.
“They [Europe] may know about them, they may not even be looking for them. But they certainly allow them to fundraise, to activate, to recruit and potentially, move in and out of their countries, at various ports. Because their names are not on list to be denied visas or entry.”
Goldberg said it’s further evidence for the European Union (EU) to enlist the IRGC a terrorist entity and push for greater alliances across the transatlantic.
“To build a transatlantic alliance to counter these malign activities that are a danger not just to European soil, but ultimately to North America as well,” he said.
