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Analysts: Yemen’s Saleh Lost His Life over Anti-Iran Stance

Analysts: Yemen’s Saleh Lost His Life over Anti-Iran Stance

Wednesday, 6 December, 2017 - 11:30
A Yemeni woman holds up a poster showing ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Asharq Al-Awsat

Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has paid his life for supporting an Arab positions and standing up against the Iran-styled state in Yemen, analysts said.


Analysts pointed out that the spark set off by Saleh before his assassination will not be put out by his death.


Officials from Saleh's General People's Congress party said he died in an attack south of the capital, Sanaa.


Until recently, Saleh loyalists had been fighting alongside Iran-aligned Houthis in a war against the current president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.


On Saturday, Saleh offered to "turn a new page" with the Saudi-led coalition if it stopped attacking Yemen and ended its crippling blockade of the country.


Analysts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent developments and the assassination of a former president of an Arab country and one of the largest political parties in Yemen underscores the need for Arab countries to reconsider their position on Iran and to look at what is happening in Yemen with a different pair of eyes.


Fighting against Tehran-backed Houthis not only defends Saudi borders, but also defends all Arab countries, in the face of Iranian expansionist ambitions.


Dr. Hadi al-Yami, the former chairman of the Arab Human Rights Committee, said that current events in Yemen clearly illustrate suffering.


He added that the killing of Saleh “shows the extent of Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries,” citing that Saleh was a former president of an Arab country and a leader in a large political party in Yemen.


Everyone knows that it was Iranian intelligence that provided Houthi militias with Saleh's plan of action, and gave clear instructions to take him and his companions out in cold blood.


“Such developments confirm that the Arab countries should reconsider their position on Iran, look at what is happening in Yemen with a different eye, and be aware that the Arab alliance that is fighting Houthis is not only defending the borders of the Kingdom but also defending all countries.”


Yami called for a serious and resolute stance, and to move at all levels politically, diplomatically and militarily, to form a united Arab front.


The group would first start with restoring legitimate authority in Yemen and to empower the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.


The analyst also warned that if Arabs do not unite, it will not be strange to soon witness the effects of Iranian intervention, such as the emerging of sectarian conflicts, ethnic wars, and total destruction in other Arab countries.


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