Yemen’s Alimi Picks Apart Houthi Red Sea Narrative, Stresses Need to End their Coup

Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi speaks at a panel discussion on Yemen at the Munich Security Conference. (Saba)
Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi speaks at a panel discussion on Yemen at the Munich Security Conference. (Saba)
TT

Yemen’s Alimi Picks Apart Houthi Red Sea Narrative, Stresses Need to End their Coup

Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi speaks at a panel discussion on Yemen at the Munich Security Conference. (Saba)
Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi speaks at a panel discussion on Yemen at the Munich Security Conference. (Saba)

Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi used his platform at the Munich Security Conference to pick apart the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ narrative over their attacks in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have claimed that the attacks against international shipping routes are aimed at supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza amid the Israeli war against the enclave. They have said that they were targeting ships affiliated with or headed to Israel to champion the Palestinian people.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Yemen and the Red Sea tensions, Alimi said the terrorist Houthis’ continued control over coastal provinces will allow them to keep up their threats against the region and world, including international shipping lanes.

“If we want to end this piracy, then we must deal with the source of this threat. This lies in ending the Houthi coup and restoring state institutions, while simultaneously applying maximum pressure on the Iranian regime,” he urged.

On January 17, the US State Department officially designated the Houthi militias as a global terrorist organization. This freezes any assets they have in the US and cuts off their funding sources.

The decision went into effect last week.

Alimi warned that the Houthis would continue to pose a threat, urging the international community to boost the capabilities of the Yemeni government and countries overlooking the Red Sea so that they can become effective partners in confronting the challenges and helping regional and world stability.

Moreover, he stressed that the world finally became alerted to the real catastrophe when the Houthis started to threaten global trade routes to Europe, saying the militias have now become a global problem.

Furthermore, he said the Houthi threats to marine navigation will persist even after the end of the Gaza war.

“The Red Sea will continue to be a source of tension ready to explode at any political turn as long as the Houthis control coastal regions,” he warned.

The only viable long-term solution in Yemen lies in supporting the state and helping its legitimate authorities build institutions and dry up the sources that are financing and arming the Houthis, Alimi explained.

He reiterated the Yemeni leadership’s rejection of the terrorist Houthi behavior in the Red Sea. He said the Yemeni people and government stand in moral support with the Palestinian people and are also aware of how the plight in Gaza has been opportunistically exploited by the Houthis to achieve a political and regional agenda.

Since November 19, the Houthis have carried out around 47 attacks against vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, resulting in damage to at least eight ships. They have also seized the Galaxy Leader and continue to hold it and its crew.

The West has retaliated with the US carrying out a series of strikes against the militias. The Houthis have acknowledged the death of 32 of its members.

Alimi urged the international community to support the capabilities of the Yemeni government so that it can impose state sovereignty at sea. He also said that as long as the sea attacks are being launched from land, then tackling the threat should start from land as well.

The PLC leader held a series of meetings with European officials in Munich, including NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Boris Ruge and German Minister of State Tobias Lindner.



Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
TT

Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)

Baghdad has been preoccupied this week with serious possibilities that Israel may expand its war on Gaza and Lebanon by striking several targets in Iraq in retaliation to attacks by Iran-backed armed factions.

Concern has been high that Israel may attack government buildings, oil fields and strategic locations, not just the positions of the armed factions that have previously launched attacks against Israel, said sources close to the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework.

Media sources have spoken of government speculation that Iraq could come under “300 Israeli attacks”.

The fears in Iraq have been compounded by an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council against seven armed factions and holding Baghdad responsible for the attacks they have carried out against it.

This prompted the government, through the foreign ministry, to send an official letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response to the Israeli threats.

The ministry said on Saturday that Iraq is “the cornerstone of stability in the region and world and it is one of the countries that are most committed to the UN Charter.”

“The Zionist entity’s letter to the Security Council is part of a systematic policy aimed at creating claims and excuses in an attempt to expand the conflict in the region.”

It said Iraq has turned to the Security Council out of Iraq’s keenness on the international body carrying out its duty in maintaining international peace and security and the need to rein in the “Zionist aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Moreover, it stressed that Iraq has been keen on exercising restraint when it comes to the use of its airspace to attack a neighboring country.

Israel has used Iraqi airspace to launch attacks against Iran in October.

Iraq underscored the importance of the international community stepping in to “stop this hostile behavior that is a flagrant violation of international law.”

It called for international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure that international laws and treaties are respected to consolidate security and stability.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework said the main Shiite parties are taking the Israeli threats “very seriously”, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government to take “all the necessary measures to avert a potential Israeli strike.”

All leaders of armed factions, as well as Shiite leaders, have taken up alternative locations and are moving under great secrecy, confirming that they have changed the majority of their military positions, said the source.

It also dismissed claims that Israeli jets have overflown Iraq, saying nothing has been confirmed, but not ruling out the possibility, especially since US forces have control over Iraqi skies and Iraq is helpless against stopping these violations.

Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to the UN and Security Council over Israel’s use and violation of its airspace to attack Iran.

Analyst and former diplomat Ghazi Faisal said the pro-Iran armed factions have been gathering their forces in the Sinjar province, which is strategic for Iran’s arms deliveries and logistic support to Syria where attacks can be carried out against American forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Sinjar is one of the most important strategic bases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, he added.

Furthermore, he noted that the armed factions insist on continuing the war against Israel, rejecting government calls for calm and neutrality.

The government’s statements are aimed at delivering a message that it “is not directly responsible for the strategy of these factions,” which follow Iran’s policies.

Iraq has repeatedly said that it refuses for its territory to be used to attack another country, but some observers believe that it may allow Iran to do so should Israel strike.