Yemen Armed Forces Spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdu Majly stressed that the forces are ready to handle ay field development or military escalation by the Iran-backed Houthis.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he condemned the “direct Iranian meddling” in Yemen, it was a threat to regional and international security and undermine efforts to reach a political settlement to end the war.
Iran’s operation of a direct Mahan Air flight from Houthi-held Sanaa airport is a “flagrant violation of the Yemeni republic’s sovereignty” and undermining of international laws and United Nations Security Council resolutions, he added.
He also deemed it a “dangerous threat to Yemeni and regional security.”
Majly said the flight carried Iranian “experts” and members of its Revolutionary Guards Corpse (IRGC). They arrived in Yemen to run military operations alongside the Houthis.
This is evidence that Tehran is using the militants as “a tool to implement its expansionist agenda in the region and undermine the sovereignty of the Yemeni state,” he stressed.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council slammed the flight, saying it demonstrates the close relations between the Houthis and Iran.
It underscores the Houthis’ continued use of state institutions in areas under their control to serve the Iranian agenda, it went on to say.
It is an act of “defiance” against Security Council resolutions and international law, it added, saying it tests the international community’s commitment to protecting Yemen’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, a statement by the Saudi-led Arab coalition said the latest developments not only reflect internal Yemeni conflicts, but they are also tied to regional security.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki vowed that the coalition will “respond with unprecedented force” to any attack against Saudi Arabia or Yemen.
Majly told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran’s continued support to the Houthis reveals how it “is using the group to serve its agendas in defiance of the will of the Yemeni people and regional and international efforts to end the war and restore peace.”
Through direct Iranian support, the Houthis “are undermining all political initiatives and rejecting peace, starting with Saudi-led efforts in cooperation with brothers and international partners.”
He therefore held the Houthis responsible for the continued deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen.
The armed forces, out of their constitutional and legal responsibilities, will maintain their protection of the Yemeni republic, defend its skies and territories, and repel any threat to its legitimate institutions, he vowed.
On the ground, Majalli said the Houthis were amassing forces on several fronts, especially Hodeidah and the west coast.
On Saturday, they struck a position held by government forces in Hays, leaving fatalities and injuries in their ranks.
Majly accused the Houthis of seeking to threaten navigation in the Red Sea and other marine waterways, warning that such practices harm the Yemeni state and the interests of the Yemeni people.
The armed forces are on high combat readiness and their morale is firm, he stressed.
They are determined to liberate territories, reclaim state institutions and consolidate the legitimate authority, he said.
Commenting on the recent “hostile” Houthi statements against Saudi Arabia, Majly said they were aimed at “diverting attention away from the violations the militants are committing against the Yemeni people and their responsibility in deepening the humanitarian and economic crisis in the country.”
