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On April 30, 2025, in a parliamentary debate following the UK’s airstrike on a Houthi military facility in Yemen, multiple British lawmakers directly highlighted the Iranian regime’s role in fueling regional instability, underscoring Tehran’s continued support for proxy militias threatening international security.
Defence Secretary John Healey warned the House of Commons that “the Houthis act as an agent of instability across the region. They continue to receive both military and financial backing from Iran,” emphasizing that Tehran’s involvement extended beyond Yemen. “Iran is a destabilising influence across the region… developing, sponsoring, and supplying proxy groups,” he added, pointing to a broader pattern of malign activities.
James Cartlidge MP, speaking on behalf of the opposition, echoed these concerns, stating that “the Houthis’ actions are not just a threat to ourselves and our allies,” noting their “long-running support not just from the Houthis, but for Hezbollah… and other armed groups.” He called for greater clarity on the UK’s approach to the regime’s involvement.
#Iran News: UK Parliament Report Highlights Regime's Diminishing Influence in the #MiddleEasthttps://t.co/FAXf5AXz16
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 30, 2025
Sir Julian Lewis MP questioned the regime’s capacity to maintain the Houthi attacks despite the UK-US strike: “Can the Secretary of State advise us what the Government knows about the ability of Iran to keep fuelling the attacks… how easy will it be for Iran to supply them directly to the Houthis?” Healey acknowledged that curbing Iranian financial and logistical support would be essential to reducing the threat.
Several MPs urged stronger measures against Tehran. Richard Tice MP asked whether it was time to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, to which Healey replied, “I will not comment on the process of proscription,” while stressing that sanctions had been imposed on “a number of major Houthi leaders.”
Greg Smith MP referenced reports of deepening ties between the Iranian regime and Russia in supporting the Houthis, asking about efforts to disrupt this collaboration. Healey acknowledged covert Russian activities in Yemen but declined to reveal specific UK responses.
#Iran News: #UK Parliament Debates Actions to Counter Iranian Regime’s Destabilizing Activitieshttps://t.co/F1r6RXitee
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 16, 2025
Other MPs warned that Tehran’s actions extended beyond arming the Houthis. Kevin Bonavia MP characterized the regime as “the heart” of the regional destabilization network through its proxies, while John Slinger MP emphasized that “the Houthi attacks… target the principle of freedom of navigation… which benefits all nations.”
Throughout the debate, MPs from across party lines praised the professionalism of the British armed forces and supported the operation’s objectives. However, many agreed that military strikes alone were insufficient to neutralize the Iranian regime’s malign influence without a comprehensive strategy addressing Tehran’s proxy networks.
In his closing remarks, Healey underlined that “military action… is part of the solution for the long term. It is not the whole solution,” reaffirming that constraining Iran’s regional influence remained a critical challenge.