Edited by Deepali Verma
The chief negotiator for Yemen’s Houthis stated on January 10 that the group’s attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea hold no threat to the peace talks with Saudi Arabia, and blamed Israel’s war in Gaza for dragging the Middle East into more regional conflict.
The Houthi movement, an Iran-aligned group that controls a significant portion of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a Western-backed and Saudi-led coalition, has stood up as a strong supporter of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in its war against Israel.
The group has attacked commercial ships that according to them are linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports, and has directly come into conflict with the U.S. navy in the Red Sea. They are engaged in firing ballistic missiles and deploying armed drones against U.S. and British warships.
The Houthis’ top negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam revealed that the attacks in the Red Sea had no impact on the peace process that is in progress with Saudi Arabia, with the mediation of Oman and the United Nations.
U.S-allied Gulf and Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, have been pressing Washington for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, pointing out that is the only way to prevent the conflict from spreading beyond the Gaza strip.
Washington, firm on its ground, said that it will continue to stand with Israel and ensure that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli towns in which its gunmen killed 1,200 people and seized 240 hostages can never repeat itself.
“The one who is dragging the region into a wider war is the one allowing the continued aggression and the siege that stretches for more than 100 days in the Gaza Strip,” Abdulsalam said.
The group aims to pressure the Israelis and Americans into a ceasefire, including lifting the siege on Gaza and moving towards peace and dialogue, Abdulsalam added.
The U.N Security Council on January 10 demanded Yemen’s Houthis immediately bring an end to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and implicitly endorse a U.S-led task force that has been shielding vessels while cautioning against the growing tensions.
The head of the Islamist group’s supreme revolutionary committee Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, however, voiced that the UN resolution was nothing but a “political game” and that the United States was the one violating international law.
