American website: "Al Mazyouna" in Oman represents a launching point for smuggling weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

The American website Middle East Forum Observer reported that the Sultanate of Oman is using Al Mazyouna, near the border with Yemen, as a launching point for smuggling weapons into the country for Houthi forces.

The website published an article by writer Michael Rubin, in which he argued that the Al-Mazyouna area represents a problem that the international community must address. It is an industrial zone straddling the Yemeni-Omani border, and Oman and the Houthis use it as a launching pad for smuggling weapons into the country to Houthi forces, who are now threatening Yemen's oil hub near Marib.

The article, translated by Yemen Youth Net, called on the United States and the international community to hold Oman accountable for what is happening in Al Mazyouna, punish it for what it described as its "double game" when necessary, and target Houthi movements inside and outside the city and industrial zone.

He added, "The Houthis obtain Iranian weapons in three ways: "By air via Sanaa International Airport, via the port of Hodeidah or smaller nearby ports, or via sparsely populated desert roads via the Sultanate of Oman."

He emphasized that while Sana'a airport poses a challenge, the Houthis do not receive this amount of weapons by air. Flights to Sana'a are easily tracked, and Hezbollah's loss of Beirut International Airport complicates the supply process, given Iran's desire to maintain plausible deniability.

He pointed out that "Hodeidah is a real problem. The 2018 Stockholm Agreement was just a UN ploy. The much-vaunted inspection regime requires voluntary compliance.

Meanwhile, instead of wresting control of the port from the Houthis, the UN enabled it by allowing Houthi port workers to change their uniforms in exchange for their salaries, with just a nod.

In effect, the Houthis in Hodeidah struck the same deal that Hezbollah struck long ago at Beirut International Airport: The terrorist group would provide the international community with plausible deniability by dressing as civilian workers, while transforming the transportation hub into a money laundering and arms smuggling center.

However, the article warns of the growing importance of the Omani route for supplying Iranian weapons to the Houthis, noting that successive US administrations and other international bodies, including the United Nations, have used Oman's good offices to mediate and negotiate with the Houthis.

The author also warned of Oman's relationship with the Houthis, noting that Muscat is using the cover of mediation to promote the victory of one party over the other.

He explained that while the US Navy is playing "whack-a-mole" with the Houthis near the Red Sea, the Trump administration will not deprive the Houthis of their Iranian weapons until it begins targeting smuggling operations across the Omani border.

The author concluded his article by saying, "The US Navy should under no circumstances bomb Oman, but rather maintain continuous surveillance via satellite and drones over Al Mazyouna, and target any Houthis or tribal groups on the Yemeni side of the border."