Iran seeks to ‘freeze out’ US from post-war Middle East deal

He said there was a “coalescence” of a Houthi strategy and Iranian strategy unfolding, with “the Iranians on the Strait of Hormuz side and the Houthis on the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb”.

“Whether there’s coordination, we really don’t know,” he said.

But he said the Houthis have created leverage by capturing areas close to the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

“Originally, the conflict was about kinetic military activity towards the Gulf Arab states. And now what they’re [Iran] doing is connecting the two straits … in terms of the ability to put pressure on the global community, and certainly the United States,” he said.

“And they’re trying to … basically to create, not necessarily isolate the United States, but to regionalise the conflict politically so that they sort of shut out or freeze out the United States from any kind of post-war arrangement,” he said.

Harrison said he believed for Iran and the US to return to the negotiating table, both sides would have to believe they have more to achieve there than on the battlefield, reports AL Jazeera.

“Even if the United States right now is willing to negotiate … we’re not sure the Iranians are going to play ball at this juncture,” he said.