Intelligence Forces Rescue Kidnapped Diplomat in Yemen

The release of an Iranian diplomat, who was kidnapped in Yemen in July 2013, was engineered by Iranian special forces on March 5.

Noor Ahmad Nikbakht’s release followed what was described by Iranian officials as a “complex intelligence operation.”

“I was going to work when the terrorists abducted me,” Nikbakht told reporters at Tehran airport after his rescue, where he was greeted by Iranian officials and his family. “Conditions were very difficult. I had no news from anybody, not even from my family.”

Houthi rebels took control of Sanna, the Yemeni capital, in September 2014. And, since then, Iran has increasingly ramped up its support to the Shia group in a bid to command greater influence in Yemen and the wider region.

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi told reporters that intelligence forces used “new techniques” to negotiate the release of Nikbakht, “without meeting any of the conditions set by the terrorists and at a minimal cost.” The statement was supported by Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that intelligence experts had conducted  “a difficult operation” in order to free the diplomat, and suggested the operation took place inside Yemeni territory.

However Yemen's Interior Ministry said a “prisoner swap” had taken place outside of Yemen, and that Iran negotiated the release of its diplomat in exchange for the release of various “terrorist elements.” Like Iran’s deputy minister, he did not provide further details, but Yemen's al-Masserah TV said a leader of the Islamic State in Iraq was exchanged for the diplomat.

Though Iran has put the release down to its agents’ military ingenuity, speculation that Houthi forces played a role in sealing the deal, would confirm a strong political alliance that will unsettle Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.

Both the Yemeni Interior Ministry and al-Masserah TV are controlled by Houthi rebels, who are “technically part of Yemen’s transitional government,” according to Charles Schmitz of the Middle East Institute. 

The release follows two recent attacks on Iranian diplomats. In January, economic attaché Ali Asghar Asadi was shot dead in Sanaa when he resisted kidnappers - Iran accused groups affiliated with Al Qaeda of the murder. And, in December 2014, two Yemenis were killed when a bomb went off at the Iranian ambassador's residence in the capital. This is also thought to have been the work of Al-Qaeda.

Yemen, the Houthis and Iran

In September 2014, Houthi rebels occupied the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and reached a peace deal with the government. On January 22 2015, Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Baha resigned amid an ongoing dispute with armed Houthi rebels, who took control of the presidential palace on January 21. After fleeing to Aden in southern Yemen following a month under house arrest, Hadi withdrew his resignation on February 24.

Houthis are Zaidi Shias, a school of Shiism that is almost exclusively Yemeni, and which makes up about 30 per cent of Yemeni Muslims. They take their name from Hossein Badr al-Din, who was killed by the Yemeni army in 2004.

Iran “contributed” to the Houthi militia’s takeover of Yemen and the collapse of the government there, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on February 24, the day that Hadi announced he was retracting his resignation. Kerry acknowledged that Tehran’s support for the Houthis was “critical” for the rebels, but at the same time said Iranian leaders seemed somewhat “surprised” by recent events.

In late February, Iran and the Houthis agreed to establish a direct air route between Tehran and Sanaa. But the deal is more than a simple business transaction. The situation in Yemen continues to be volatile, making the arrangement all the more significant politically and in terms of regional security in that it opens up lines of communication between the two sides.

Given recent events in Yemen, the release of the Iranian diplomat is more of an indication of the Houthis’ control over Yemen than a reflection on the prowess of the Iranian intelligence apparatus.

Up to now, Iran has been successful in ensuring events in Yemen work to its advantage. Though most countries in the region have preferred to monitor events in Yemen without commenting too readily on Iran’s military and political support of the Houthi rebels, tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran are likely to increase as both powers hope to secure greater influence in the region.

In May 2014, when the Houthis were yet to take over the capital, Yemeni media reported that the government had arrested members of the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, both actively supporting the Shia Houthis in Yemen. “We have evidence that the Iranian government is playing a negative role by sending arms to this country,” said the then-Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Gharabi. Iran has always denied it has military presence in Yemen — at the same time, Iranian leaders have plainly stated their support for the Houthis.

Houthis are all too aware that at the present time, Iran is their only supporter. So a security deal involving the release of an Iranian diplomat should not come as a surprise, nor should a direct air route between the two capitals. The fact is that both sides need one other, and this will mean they continue to exchange favors.

Read more about Yemen and Iran’s political and military influence on IranWire

- Iran, Houthis and the Future of Yemen, by Roland Elliott Brown, January 2015

- Iran Hails Shia Victory in Yemen by Sina Parsi, September, 2014