Houthis Opt for War by Refusing UN Peace Efforts

Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters)
TT
20

Houthis Opt for War by Refusing UN Peace Efforts

Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters)
Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters)

The Iranian-backed Houthi militias confirmed on Tuesday their attachment to the choice of war by refusing fresh UN efforts to achieve peace in Yemen.

Houthi militias official sources said that head of the coup council, Saleh al-Sammad, rejected during a meeting with deputy UN envoy to Yemen, Moein Shraim any “partial solutions” to the Yemeni war, including a previous suggestion to hand over the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah to a neutral party.

Instead, the rebel group insisted that the Arab coalition fighting in Yemen lift the siege on Houthi-linked militias, reopen the Sanaa airport and stop launching airstrikes.

Sammad warned that the Houthis will continue fighting even if they end up controlling one section in Yemen, said the sources.

During the meeting with the UN deputy envoy, he also threatened to target maritime traffic in the Red Sea or any ship passing there should the Yemeni army continue to advance on Hodeidah province.

Commenting on Sammad’s position, Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the international community should seriously confront such statements that constitute a threat to maritime traffic in the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the most important sea passages in the world.

He added: “Those who were saying that the Houthis are a part of Yemen who should be involved in its political process, should now be aware that they we are dealing with a terrorist movement that is no different from ISIS or al-Qaeda.”

Currently, Shraim is leading efforts in Sanaa to revive peace talks between the Yemeni legitimate government and Houthis, in a hope to reach a comprehensive deal based on the three references for a political solution in Yemen, including the Gulf initiative, outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue and Security Council Resolution 2216.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.