🇾🇪🇮🇷🇨🇳⚡️ — The Houthis’ (Ansarallah) rapid advancements across western Yemen have been powered by Iranian weapons technology and an increasing supply of Chinese dual-use components, WSJ reports.

The Houthis have recently expanded beyond territory held for more than a decade, capturing Red Sea islands and additional coastal areas, including Mokha, while asserting control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Iran has played a central role in building the Houthi arsenal. Since around 2015, the IRGC’s Quds Force has supplied missile and drone components and trained Houthi personnel to manufacture weapons locally.

The arsenal now includes Iranian-derived Waid-1 and Waid-2 suicide drones, Samad drones, Quds cruise missiles, and Sayyad anti-ship missiles, giving the group the ability to strike targets more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) away.

China has meanwhile emerged as another important source of supplies, with Chinese companies providing dual-use goods considered particularly important for Houthi drone production.

The group also reportedly uses routes through Djibouti for weapons transfers and has traded small arms with al-Shabaab in Somalia.