Aide in Yemen’s PLC to Asharq Al-Awsat: Washington’s Houthi Terrorist Designation Is Not Enough

Damage is seen to an American ship after a Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden. (AP)
Damage is seen to an American ship after a Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden. (AP)
TT

Aide in Yemen’s PLC to Asharq Al-Awsat: Washington’s Houthi Terrorist Designation Is Not Enough

Damage is seen to an American ship after a Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden. (AP)
Damage is seen to an American ship after a Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden. (AP)

Aide in the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Ahmed Saleh said the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ attacks on Red Sea shipping are part of their attempts to shirk their responsibilities towards peace.

In an interview to Asharq Al-Awsat, he noted that the attacks started taking place days before the agreements related to a UN-sponsored peace roadmap were to be signed.

Moreover, he remarked that Washington’s re-designation of the Houthis as terrorist is a positive step, but “it’s not enough.”

“We need for than his. The move does not rise up to the threat posed by the Houthis and the danger they pose to international navigation,” he added.

“The designation will be worthless if it doesn’t have an actual impact on this extremist terrorist group,” he warned.

“The government was the one to offer concessions to build bridges to reach peace,” he added.

On the other hand, the Houthis and the Iranians behind them, have exploited the current circumstances to create crises and shirk responsibilities by stirring chaos, Saleh explained.

“The state is keen on peace, but the Houthis and Iranians are not looking for just sustainable peace,” he lamented.

The developments in the Red Sea are the greatest evidence that the Houthis don’t want peace. They will use the Palestinian cause to avoid their responsibilities and they are promoting this claim before their supporters, he continued.

He noted that the Houthis’ terrorist designation “has veered us off the peace path, but we will remain ready for peace anyway.”

“If the Houthis are not defeated and their project in Yemen is not eliminated, then their harm will not be limited to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, but will spill over to other regions. The cost of eliminating them then will be much higher than it is now,” he warned.

Greater coordination

Saleh also criticized the state of cooperation between the legitimate government and the American administration. “The cooperation does not reflect the level of threats and challenges in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” he remarked.

“We hope there will be greater coordination and support in the future,” he stated, citing “joint interests and the Yemeni cause that is recognized by the international community and relevant international resolutions.”

“All we want is support to the state and its institutions so that we can stop this global threat, which is primarily negatively impacting the lives of the Yemeni people on the economic, political and military levels,” he went on to say.

‘Strangled the world’

Furthermore, he ruled out that the Houthi attacks were tied to the Israeli war on Gaza, revealing that the militias had carried out 18 piracy operations in the Red Sea even before the conflict erupted. He also noted their planting of marine mines in the Red Sea.

He said past experience has proven that strikes, whether by air or by sea, will not decide the war.

“We have nine years' experience of war with them. So, we know how they operate, what tactics they use and the means at their disposal,” he continued.

“Based on this, we believe that the air strikes will achieve very little. If they really want to make a real achievement against the militias, then the strikes must continue, but real and effective coordination must also take place between the Americans, and the coalition it is leading, with the Yemeni government and Arab coalition,” he stressed.

The Houthis “have strangled the world” at the Bab al-Mandeb Strait through which over 20 percent of global trade passes, he noted. This strait is very important and the developments there will have a direct and indirect impact on very important countries.

Saleh added that it was “naive” to believe that the attacks in the Red Sea were solely tied to Gaza. “This is not true at all because the Houthis have been practicing piracy in the area and they have carried out over 18 operations before the developments unfolded in Gaza,” he said, while also citing the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the militias.

“The Houthis are an Iranian proxy, and they receive everything they need from the Iranian regime. They receive their orders from Tehran, not Sanaa,” he said.

Saleh underlined the importance of liberating the Hodeidah province from the Houthis, saying it is a vital supply route from Iran.

He said the Yemeni forces have a plan in place to liberate it, but they need support from the Arab coalition and logistic support from “friends, starting with the Americans.”

History of Houthis

Saleh remarked that many people believe that the Houthi terrorists are a recent arrival in Yemen. “This is not true,” he stressed. “The movement was first formed in the late 1970s and then transformed into a main organization in the early 1980s.”

It was then headed by Badreddine al-Houthi and its first terrorist act was documented in Yemen in 1983. The Houthis attacked cinemas in Sanaa and later that year, a fatwa was issued against women and female students at universities. They were attacked with acid, leaving them with scars and burns. Several women were killed during that period.

“The Houthis were born of terrorist extremist ideology that doesn’t believe in equality or the state and its institutions,” Saleh said.



Moscow Open to Dialogue with Trump on Syria

The Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting last week in the Kazakh capital, Astana (Reuters)
The Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting last week in the Kazakh capital, Astana (Reuters)
TT

Moscow Open to Dialogue with Trump on Syria

The Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting last week in the Kazakh capital, Astana (Reuters)
The Russian Foreign Minister during a meeting last week in the Kazakh capital, Astana (Reuters)

Russia, Iran, and Türkiye have called for an end to Israel’s military escalation in the Middle East, expressing concern over the worsening regional situation and warning of negative impacts on Syria.
At the conclusion of the 22nd round of Syria talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to a political solution, focused on restarting the work of the Constitutional Committee.
The escalation in the region, combined with the uncertainty following US President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, was a major topic of discussion in Astana, both during bilateral talks and in broader sessions.
The Russian delegation was led by Alexander Lavrentiev, Special Representative for Syria, while Iran’s delegation was headed by Ali Asghar Haji, Senior Political Advisor to the Foreign Minister. Türkiye’s delegation was led by Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul, Director-General for Syrian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
The Syrian government delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Riad, and the opposition delegation, led by Ahmad Tohme, were also present.
Representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with observers from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, attended the talks.
UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen was also present.
Sources at the meetings told Asharq Al-Awsat that much of the discussion focused on the impact of ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon and their effects on Syria, particularly amid Israel’s efforts to expand the conflict.
There was a strong emphasis on preventing Syria from becoming further embroiled in the growing conflict. Additionally, the impact of Trump’s election on US policy towards the region and Syria was widely discussed, with increasing speculation that Trump might follow through on promises to withdraw US troops from Syria.
This issue was highlighted by Russia’s envoy, Lavrentiev, at the close of the talks.
Lavrentiev stated that Russia is open to talks with the new US administration once it is in place to discuss issues related to Syria.
“If there are proposals, Russia is open and ready to continue communication with the US,” he added.
According to Lavrentiev, “Some compromises can only be reached through negotiations.”
A source from the Syrian opposition, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, said there is a shared view that a US withdrawal from Syria is “not inevitable, even if Trump has mentioned it.”
The source noted that Trump has become more pragmatic and responsive to the "deep state," with a better understanding of foreign policy.
The source also pointed out that Türkiye shares this view. While Ankara wants the US to leave, it does not want a unilateral withdrawal without coordination, especially since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are open to talks with both the Syrian government and Russia.

The discussions also highlighted that, despite Israel's efforts to reduce Iranian influence in the region, it is unlikely that Trump will push for a withdrawal under the current situation.