Amid fresh reports that Iran is smuggling weapons to Yemen in its military support of the Houthis - Shia rebel group based in the northern province of Sa'ada - Saudi newspaper Okaz revealed a delegation from the Hezbollah - Shi'a Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon with strong ties to the Iranian regime as they share a common politico-religious ideology - visited several of Yemen tribal leaders, politicians and officials in a bid to smoothe out relations and address allegations Iran is running spy cells in the country.

Diplomatic relations between Sana'a and Tehran have been strained over the past few months, with several calls from Yemen President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi urging the Iranian Republic to stop meddling within Yemen internal affairs.

Iran has been accused of financially and military supporting political groups in Yemen to promote instability and offset Saudi Arabia's hold over the Arabian Peninsula.

According to state officials and U.S Intelligence reports Iran is using the Houthis and the Southern Secessionist Movement - al-Harak - to assert its foothold in Yemen and increase its level of influence. On countless occasions, U.S Ambassador Gerard Feierstein warned against Tehran's plot in Yemen, speaking of the dangers a rapprochement with Iran's Ayatollahs would entail for the Yemeni nation.

The discovery of a cargo ship loaded with highly sophisticated weapons -- surface-to-air missiles, C4 military-grade explosives, 122-millimeter shells, rocket-propelled grenades and bomb-making equipment, including electronic circuits, remote triggers and other hand-held explosives -- sent shock waves across the nation as officials grasped the extent of Iran's alleged operations in Houthis' controlled areas -- al-Jawf, Sa'ada and Hajjah --

Only a few months away from Yemen National Dialogue a military escalation would lay waste any efforts to peacefully and politically resolve the country's many issues and would almost definitely spell out war.