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Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)
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Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)

The Yemeni government is calling on the international community to take firm stances and measures against the Houthi group. It also urged efforts to resume oil exports, which have been halted for a year due to Houthi attacks on export ports.

This call from the Yemeni government comes at a time when the Houthi group continues to violate the ceasefire, particularly in southwestern Taiz fronts.

This is happening concurrently with suppression campaigns targeting those demanding their salaries in areas under Houthi control.

With over 80% of Yemenis enduring dire circumstances due to the ongoing war and Houthi insurgency, the government emphasized, during its address to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, the necessity of enabling it to resume oil exports.

This would allow the government to fulfill its urgent financial obligations to its citizens, including paying salaries that support the population in coping with challenging living conditions and financing food imports into both government-controlled areas and Houthi-run regions.

Nabil Abdulhafiz, the Deputy Minister of Human Rights in the Yemeni government, reaffirmed the support for the National Committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

The committee is regarded as an independent national mechanism that efficiently and independently carries out its work, receiving all necessary facilitations and cooperation to uncover the truth, achieve accountability, justice, and provide reparations to victims.

The Yemeni government called upon the members of the Human Rights Council to address the human rights situation in Yemen.

The appeal stems from Yemen’s need for support, technical assistance, and capacity-building to enable the government to meet its human rights commitments.

The government is also seeking to encourage and support the committee in continuing its mission to ensure accountability and justice.

Moreover, Abdulhafiz said that recent steps taken in reshaping the Supreme Judicial Council are evidence of the Presidential Leadership Council’s commitment to achieving justice and revitalizing its institutions.

Abdulhafiz further noted that his country’s government “remains committed to the humanitarian ceasefire and the execution of all its provisions, while militias continue to defy their obligations, including opening crossings and roads between all Yemeni cities and lifting the siege on the city of Taiz.”

The Yemeni official accused the Houthi group of persistently violating and attacking civilians and displacement camps in areas such as Marib, Al-Dhale, Hodeidah, and Taiz.

These provocations manifest in their military build-up, parades, threats, and the unlawful use of military force.

Abdulhafiz urged the international community and the Human Rights Council to press the Houthi militias to cease their violations, halt their looting of Yemeni resources, and cease targeting vital facilities and infrastructure.

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Arab World

Trump Congratulates Zaidi on His Nomination to Be Next Iraqi Prime Minister

This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office on April 28, 2026 shows new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi talking on the phone at his office in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office /AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office on April 28, 2026 shows new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi talking on the phone at his office in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office /AFP)
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Trump Congratulates Zaidi on His Nomination to Be Next Iraqi Prime Minister

This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office on April 28, 2026 shows new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi talking on the phone at his office in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office /AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office on April 28, 2026 shows new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi talking on the phone at his office in Baghdad. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office /AFP)

US President Donald Trump congratulated Ali al-Zaidi on his nomination to be next prime minister of Iraq on Thursday, saying that he looked forward to a highly productive new relationship.

Iraq's alliance of Shiite political blocs, the Coordination Framework, on Monday named Zaidi as its ‌nominee for the ‌post of prime minister, a ‌coalition ⁠statement said.

"We wish ⁠him success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"We look ⁠forward to a strong, vibrant, ‌and highly ‌productive new relationship between Iraq and the United ‌States."

Trump also invited Zaidi to visit ‌Washington after forming a government during a phone call on Thursday in which he congratulated him on his nomination, according to ‌a statement from the Iraqi prime minister's media office.

The call reviewed ⁠strategic ⁠ties between Iraq and the US and ways to strengthen cooperation across multiple fields, the statement said, adding that both sides affirmed joint efforts to support regional stability.

Trump had threatened in January to withdraw Washington's support for Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was designated to form a cabinet.

Arab World

Israel Responds to Lebanon’s De-Escalation Demand with More Pressure, Attacks

A man passes on his scooter in front of a destroyed building that was hit few weeks ago by an Israeli airstrike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP)
A man passes on his scooter in front of a destroyed building that was hit few weeks ago by an Israeli airstrike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Responds to Lebanon’s De-Escalation Demand with More Pressure, Attacks

A man passes on his scooter in front of a destroyed building that was hit few weeks ago by an Israeli airstrike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP)
A man passes on his scooter in front of a destroyed building that was hit few weeks ago by an Israeli airstrike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP)

Israel responded on Thursday to Lebanon’s demands for de-escalation with more evacuation warnings for southern towns that will increase internal pressure on the Lebanese state.

It issued the warnings even as Lebanese and United Nations proposals have been relayed to Israel over consolidating the ceasefire in the South. At the moment, these efforts appear to have yielded little results save for keeping Lebanese state infrastructure out of Israel’s targets.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert informed on Thursday Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on the outcome of her visit to Israel on Sunday as part of efforts to consolidate the ceasefire.

Informed sources said her visit yielded no initiative. Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that she conveyed “ideas and visions” to Israeli officials over how to consolidate the ceasefire and pave the way for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

Her efforts were met with an Israeli escalation with the warnings to southern towns in the Tyre and Nabatieh districts.

Israel has repeatedly said that its operations are solely aimed against Hezbollah, not the Lebanese state. Lebanese sources, however, view the attacks as an attempt to increase pressure against the state. The warnings are leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of people, which is increasing pressure on the state that views direct negotiations with Israel as a solution to the problem.

The “Shiite duo” of Hezbollah and its ally, Amal, are opposed to the talks.

Aoun has through his various diplomatic contacts been urging Israel to commit to the ceasefire that US President Donald Trump extended for another three weeks. Aoun has also been calling for Israel to release Lebanese detainees and withdraw from Lebanese territories.

He met on Thursday with a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He stressed to it the need for Israel to respect international laws and agreements and cease attacks against civilians, medics, and civil defense, humanitarian, health and relief teams.

Berri and Hezbollah

Meanwhile, differences between Aoun and parliament Speaker and Amal movement leader Nabih Berri over direct negotiations with Israel came to the open on Wednesday.

Telecommunications Minister Charles al-Hage said: “There are no disputes between them over the end goals. The main goals are ending the destruction and killing.”

“Not a single Lebanese person trusts Israel, and so, we need international guarantees, especially ones from the US and Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to ensure that the ceasefire will be respected and consolidated,” he added.

In a statement on Labor Day, which falls on May 1, Berri called on the Lebanese “state, and all of its authorities, and the international community, and its rights and justice organizations, to make Israel immediately cease its attacks.” He also called for an international probe into Israel’s crimes in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, continued its attacks against Aoun over direct negotiations with Israel.

Member of the Iran-backed party’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Ali Fayyad said the president’s stance is “increasingly alarming because he is promoting American demands, rather than distancing himself from them.”

“Most dangerous is that he is agreeing to them without making a clear objection to allowing Israel freedom of movement even though he has been demanding a ceasefire,” he said in remarks to local radio.

How can a date for the next round of talks be scheduled amid the ongoing Israeli attacks and escalation? he wondered.

He noted that there appears to be “clear confusion in the official Lebanese stance and a lack of transparency. Most dangerous of all is the undisclosed American-Israeli side agreement that has given Israel the green light to act freely against potential threats. Aoun’s statements imply that he has agreed to this.”

Arab World

Syrian Authorities Hold Onto Campaign to Root Out Illegal Enrichment

The head of Syria's committee for combating illicit enrichment, Basel Al-Suwaidan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of Syria's committee for combating illicit enrichment, Basel Al-Suwaidan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Syrian Authorities Hold Onto Campaign to Root Out Illegal Enrichment

The head of Syria's committee for combating illicit enrichment, Basel Al-Suwaidan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of Syria's committee for combating illicit enrichment, Basel Al-Suwaidan (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The head of Syria's committee for combating illicit enrichment, Basel Al-Suwaidan, has revealed that settlements reached with prominent businessmen accused of ties with former president Bashar Al-Assad had returned to the state treasury as assets belonging to the Syrian people.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwaidan said that the committee had received hundreds of voluntary disclosure requests, leading to many settlements, while others were rejected for not meeting the criteria.

"How does the committee define the limits of illicit gains?" Asharq Al-Awsat asked him. He explained that illicit enrichment is "a legal concept inherently tied to individuals, defined as any unjustified increase in financial wealth that is disproportionate to the owner's known legitimate resources, and for which they are unable to provide a legal and convincing explanation of its source."

This includes companies, real estate and stocks.

Al-Suwaidan said that despite the committee's work being linked to individuals, it adopts objective criteria for selecting cases. He stressed that accountability is based on financial evidence, not on position or status.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa issued Presidential Decree No. 13 on May 4, 2025, concerning the formation of the committee to protect public funds, combat illicit gains in all its forms, and recover illegal funds.

On December 28, 2025, the committee launched the voluntary disclosure program for a period of six months, along with its official website, which includes services for reporting, voluntary disclosure, inquiries, and communication with the committee.

Al-Suwaidan clarified that the program represents one of the main tools adopted by the committee within its internal operating system, and it is an integral part of legal work, not an exceptional measure.

The program is defined as "a mechanism that allows individuals whose funds are linked to suspicions of illicit gains to voluntarily disclose them, subjecting them to comprehensive financial and legal scrutiny, leading to an organized settlement through which funds or assets to be recovered for the state are determined."

He noted that the adoption of this mechanism was based on UN recommendations.

According to Al-Suwaidan, past experiences have shown that relying exclusively on traditional judicial paths can be time-consuming, leading to asset freezes or loss, whereas voluntary disclosure allows for faster and more efficient recovery.

Syrian authorities reached in mid-April a settlement with Wassim Qattan and his brothers, as well as Naim Al-Jarrah, as part of the voluntary disclosure requests submitted to the committee.

A settlement has also been reached with businessman Samer Al-Foz. Another settlement involved businessman Tarif Al-Akhras, in line with adopted official procedures.

However, Mohammad Hamsho, who was a prominent businessman accused of ties to Assad's rule and of profiting from the country's war, was the first to reach a formal settlement with the Syrian authorities.

Al-Suwaidan stressed, however, that the voluntary disclosure program does not exonerate suspects. It rather works in parallel with the judicial path.

He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the primary goal is to reduce the time taken by litigation procedures and alleviate the burden on the Syrian judiciary.

Al-Suwaidan revealed that the number of cases undergoing examination is estimated in the thousands.