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ADEN: Yemen\u2019s internationally recognized government on Monday demanded that Iran stop arming Houthi militias, withdraw its military experts and cease interfering in the country\u2019s internal affairs, accusing Tehran of prolonging the war and providing political and diplomatic cover for the group.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted on X early Monday, Yemen\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs strongly condemned an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement accusing Saudi Arabia of violating Yemen\u2019s sovereignty and condemning airstrikes on civilian targets in the country.<\/p>\n
The Aden-based ministry described Tehran\u2019s statement as an attempt to provide \u201cpolitical and media cover for the terrorist Houthi militias\u201d and evade responsibility for prolonging the conflict and deepening the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis.<\/p>\n
It said Iranian intervention had evolved beyond financing, arming and training the Houthis to direct involvement in planning and managing their military operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry regards this pairing of military support on the ground with diplomatic cover in international forums as further evidence of the true nature of the Iranian role in undermining the Yemeni state and threatening the security of the region and its waterways,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Iranian military experts<\/strong><\/p>\n The ministry cited an announcement by Yemen\u2019s Interior Ministry that 21 foreign experts were working with the Houthis, including 14 from Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and seven from Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah.<\/p>\n According to the statement, their responsibilities include command and control, operational management, ballistic missiles, drones, electronic warfare, military-component smuggling and coordination of maritime operations, including selecting commercial vessels for attacks.<\/p>\n The ministry described their presence as constituting \u201ca fully-fledged general staff\u201d whose role went beyond training to the supervision, planning and direction of military operations.<\/p>\n \u201cYemenis pay the price with their lives, their security and their livelihoods,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The Yemeni government accused Tehran of enabling the Houthis to continue abducting, killing and terrorizing civilians, shelling cities and civilian facilities, and besieging and starving populations.<\/p>\n It also accused the group of repeatedly attacking Saudi territory, commercial shipping and maritime navigation in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait.<\/p>\n Dispute over civilian casualties<\/strong><\/p>\n The diplomatic exchange followed an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement condemning airstrikes on the Al-Hadara public market in Al-Wazi\u2019iyah district of Taiz province on Nov. 6, as well as attacks on Al-Shariyah village in Bani Hashish district east of Sanaa.<\/p>\n Iran said the market strikes killed 33 people, including 13 children, and wounded dozens, while the attack on Al-Shariyah killed another 33 people, including women and children. Tehran also condemned the targeting of members of Yemen\u2019s Al-Masirah television network.<\/p>\n It described the attacks as violations of international humanitarian law and the UN Charter, and called for an immediate halt to military operations and an end to what it termed the economic and aerial blockade of Yemen.<\/p>\n Tehran also called for an end to what it described as the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen through dialogue based on a previously agreed roadmap.<\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s Foreign Ministry rejected what it called Iran\u2019s exploitation of the victims of the Al-Hadara market incident to promote accusations contradicting statements by the competent Yemeni authorities.<\/p>\n It said those authorities had called for independent investigations into alleged Houthi violations of human rights and international law.<\/p>\n Arms embargo and Saudi assistance<\/strong><\/p>\n The Yemeni ministry recalled UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and Resolution 2624, which expanded the arms embargo to include the Houthis as an entity, saying the restrictions cover weapons, equipment, technical assistance, training and financing related to military activities.<\/p>\n It urged Tehran to respect the sovereignty of regional states, abandon its support for armed groups and devote its national resources to improving the living conditions of its own population rather than financing weapons and smuggling networks.<\/p>\n The statement also contrasted Iran\u2019s alleged military assistance to the Houthis with Saudi Arabia\u2019s humanitarian and development support for Yemen and assistance to Yemeni expatriates in the Kingdom.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout twelve years of a war ignited by the Houthi militia with its backing, the Iranian regime has offered the Yemeni people nothing but missiles, suicide drones, explosive-laden boats and experts of destruction,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n It added that Saudi Arabia had provided \u201cinvaluable relief, humanitarian and development assistance,\u201d as well as facilities for Yemeni expatriates whose work and remittances help sustain millions of people.<\/p>\n The ministry concluded that respect for Yemen\u2019s sovereignty required Iran to stop arming the Houthis, withdraw its military experts and end interference in the country\u2019s national decision-making.<\/p>\n It said Tehran\u2019s professed concern for Yemenis should be reflected in ending the support that it said was prolonging their suffering and deepening the country\u2019s destruction.<\/p>\n Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government from the capital. The war has triggered one of the world\u2019s most severe humanitarian crises.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n