Yemeni Intelligence Minister: Iranian Regime's Interest in Yemen Goes Beyond the Issue of Internal Conflict
Yemen's Minister of Intelligence criticized the international community's "indifference" towards the Islamic Republic's interference in Yemen and called for curbing the "subversive" activities of the Iranian government.
Muammar al-Eryani, in a statement on Twitter on Sunday, September 10, wrote: "The international community is obligated to deal seriously with the dangers of empowering another version of Hezbollah in Yemen, given its strategic importance."
He warned that "Iran is arming the Houthis to weaken the country and control international trade and energy through the Red Sea."
Muammar al-Eryani also wrote for the American think tank, the Atlantic Council, that "Iran's goal in arming and financing the Houthi militias is to seize control of Yemen and use it as a launching pad for attacks against neighboring countries and international maritime activities through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea."
He emphasized that "the Iranian regime's interest in Yemen goes beyond the country's internal conflict. Iran also seeks to impose its influence on the southern Arabian Peninsula and tighten its control over a 2,500-kilometer coastline along the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Indian Ocean."
Yemen's intelligence minister warned that "allowing the Houthis - who refuse to abide by the UN-brokered ceasefire and other peace efforts to end the war - to possess advanced weaponry would be disastrous for the world."
"This threat affects the flow of global trade in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, global energy security, and regional and international peace and security," he said.
The minister of the legitimate Yemeni government also warned that "any concession" to the Islamic Republic's plans "will have serious consequences for the Yemeni people and the world."
The publication of these statements by the Yemeni official coincides with the meeting of the Houthi movement spokesman with the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic to discuss the latest developments in Yemen and the conditions of the ceasefire in the country, which took place in Tehran.
A UN-brokered ceasefire between the warring parties in Yemen is set to expire in mid-October. It has already been extended several times, and the UN hopes it will pave the way for a long-term ceasefire.
However, there is deep distrust between the parties to the Yemeni war, and each has had complaints about the implementation of the ceasefire.
According to IRNA, in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Abdulsalam accused the other side of "betrayal" and "incomplete implementation of the main elements of the ceasefire," and considered "the fulfillment of the humanitarian issues of the Yemeni people essential for advancing any just peace in Yemen."
However, Muammar al-Eryani emphasized in his statement that "de-escalation and [finding a] peaceful solution to the Yemeni crisis is not possible except by curbing Iran's expansionist ambitions and intervention in the region, not granting Iran more power by reviving the nuclear deal, holding the Iranian regime accountable, and achieving some guarantees not only for the security of the region but also for the world."
