ALBAWABA - The arrival of a new Iranian soft drink in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen has sparked a heated public and political debate after a drink branded “Mojtaba” – after Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei – began appearing in shops just months after he came to power in Tehran.
Local sources in Sana'a say the drink, a grape-flavored carbonated beverage in a silver can displaying clusters of red grapes, has become widely accessible at grocery stores and supermarkets in recent weeks. It has apparently become popular among Houthi members and supporters, who are often observed ingesting it during qat-chewing sessions.
The drink is produced by Mojtaba Food Industries Group, an Iranian firm founded in 2015 with headquarters in Tehran. The company sells its products in areas like Iraq, Turkey and Armenia, and lately expanded in Yemen, with no publicly known office in Houthi-controlled territory.
The introduction of the drink – along with hundreds of other Iranian medications and food products – has revived suspicions among Yemeni civilians and businessmen about the veracity of the blockade that the Houthi movement often cites as the main reason for the country’s economic problems.
Even as the Houthis say limitations severely limit imports, local residents are questioning how Iranian items are nonetheless flooding the local markets in considerable amounts. Critics also highlight what they say are substantial smuggling routes that allow supplies from Tehran into the nation, even as local businesses are hit with severe tariffs, rigorous rules and growing financial constraints from the Houthi government.
The Houthis’ long-standing rhetoric of protecting domestic industries and encouraging local production has also been undermined by the growing dominance of Iranian products, and by the growing influence of imported Iranian products and businesses associated with Tehran in markets under the group’s control.
