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Yemen Denounces Iran's Recognition of Houthis' Envoy

Houthi followers attend a gathering to receive food supplies from tribesmen in Sanaa, Yemen September 21, 2019. (File Photo: Reuters)
Houthi followers attend a gathering to receive food supplies from tribesmen in Sanaa, Yemen September 21, 2019. (File Photo: Reuters)
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Yemen Denounces Iran's Recognition of Houthis' Envoy

Houthi followers attend a gathering to receive food supplies from tribesmen in Sanaa, Yemen September 21, 2019. (File Photo: Reuters)
Houthi followers attend a gathering to receive food supplies from tribesmen in Sanaa, Yemen September 21, 2019. (File Photo: Reuters)

Yemen’s Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced Iran's recognition of Houthi militia's representative in Tehran.

In a statement, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry expressed its strong condemnation of Iran’s recognition of Houthi representative and considered Tehran's approach a clear violation of UN Charter, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and Security Council's relevant resolutions on Yemen, mainly Resolution 2216.

The ministry held the Iranian regime accountable for the repercussions of this blatant violation, which confirmed Tehran's involvement in supporting Houthi militias and recognizing them.

The ministry also said Iran is accountable for not protecting the diplomatic premises and the ministry's possessions, confirming that it will take legal action against this approach. It called on the international community and the Security Council to condemn this behavior, considering it irresponsible.

Houthi media in Sanaa reported that the group's top commander Ibrahim Mohammed al-Dailami presented his credentials to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in his capacity as ambassador to Yemen.

Dailami conveyed greetings of the President of Supreme Political Council Mahdi Mashat, while Rouhani confirmed the Iranian regime's support to Houthis and the political solution in Yemen.

The group appointed Dailami as its ambassador to Iran a few weeks ago after spokesman Mohammad Abdul Salam Felita visited Iran and met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

During the meeting, the Houthi spokesman delivered a message from the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi to Khamenei, recognizing the Supreme Leader’s authority, and considering his rule as “an extension of the Prophet's.”

Meanwhile, the Yemeni government accused Iran's regime of instructing Houthis to hijack the Korean tanker while sailing south of the Red Sea, according to Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani.

Eryani said that the kidnapping and armed robbery carried out by the militias was an unprecedented operation that threatened all efforts to bring peace to Yemen.

On Tuesday, South Korea confirmed that Houthi militias hijacked a boat towing a South Korean drilling rig in the Red Sea on Sunday.

The Minister described the operation as “terrorist” saying it revealed the extent of Houthi threat on the security and freedom of international navigation and global trade in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.

The Yemeni minister indicated that this dangerous escalation, coinciding with the protests in most Iranian provinces, was apparently directed and planned by Iran to divert attention from this popular uprising and pressure the international community.

He urged the international community to take decisive stances regarding this maritime piracy, which he said “constitutes a serious violation of international laws.” He also called for taking measures to support the legitimate government and stop Houthi threat to international shipping lines and regional and international peace and security.

Meanwhile, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi received on Tuesday the UN's Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, and the two discussed a range of topics and issues relating to the Yemeni crisis, peace efforts, and possible prospects.

President Hadi welcomed the UN's envoy, appreciating his tireless efforts to make peace and break the deadlock in the peace process, particularly regarding the Swede's Agreement about Hodiedah's seaport, city, prisoners and besiege of Taiz in light of the Houthi militia's reluctance to carry out the agreement's articles, according to Saba News Agency.

Hadi reiterated his interest in achieving a comprehensive peace in accordance with the three terms of reference that produces sustainable stability and security in Yemen and the region.

Saba noted that the UN envoy praised Hadi's efforts to establish peace including the signing of Riyadh Agreement with Transitional Council as this is a significant step to bolster the state's apparatuses, security, stability, and services.

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Arab World

Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.

Arab World

Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.

Arab World

Maliki Can Withdraw as Candidacy as Iraq PM the Easy or Hard Way

Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
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Maliki Can Withdraw as Candidacy as Iraq PM the Easy or Hard Way

Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)
Members of the Coordination Framework hold a meeting. (Iraqi News Agency)

Iraqi Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declined at the last minute to attend a meeting of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework on Monday night that was aimed at settling the crisis over his nomination as prime minister.

Instead of declaring that he was pulling out as candidate, as had been expected, Maliki informed his close circle that he is “following through with his nomination to the end,” trusted sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Iraq has come under intense pressure from the US to withdraw the nomination. In January, President Donald Trump warned Baghdad against picking Maliki as its PM, saying the United States would no longer help the country.

“Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again. Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Maliki also dismissed as “extortion and intimidation” talks of renewed US sanctions on Iraq, added the sources.

However, circles within the Coordination Framework have started to “despair” with the impasse over naming a new prime minister and are weighing the possibility of taking “difficult” choices, they revealed. Maliki has become a prisoner of his own nomination.

The Sunni Progress Party (Takadum) had voiced its reservations over Maliki’s nomination before Trump made his position clear and which has since weighed heavily on Iraq.

‘Indefinitely’

Maliki’s decision to skip the Framework’s meeting on Monday forced the coalition to postpone it “indefinitely”, exposing more differences inside the alliance that have been festering for months. The dispute over the post of prime minister is threatening to evolve into one that threatens the unity of the coalition itself.

Several sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Maliki had sent the Framework a written message on Monday night informing them that he will not attend the meeting because “he was aware that discussions will seek to pressure him to withdraw his candidacy.”

Maliki was the one to call for the meeting to convene in the first place, they revealed.

Reports have been rife in Iraq that Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaderships have all received warnings that the US would take measure against Iraq if Maliki continued to insist on his nomination.

Former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Dijlah TV that “Shiite parties” had received two new American messages reiterating the rejection of Maliki’s nomination.

Necessary choice

Maliki and the Framework are now at an impasse, with the latter hoping the former PM would take it upon himself to withdraw his candidacy in what a leading Shiite figure said would help protect the unity of the coalition.

Leading members of the coalition were hoping to give Maliki enough time to decide himself to withdraw, but as time stretches on, the coalition may take matters into its own hands and take “necessary” choices, said the figure.

Other sources revealed, however, that Maliki refuses to voluntarily withdraw from the race believing that this is a responsibility that should be shouldered by the Framework. This has effectively left the alliance with complex and limited choices to end the crisis.

Sources close to Maliki said he has made light of US threats to impose sanctions, saying that if they were to happen, Iraq will emerge on the other side stronger, citing other countries that came out stronger after enduring years of pressure.

Moreover, he is banking on an American change in position, saying mediators have volunteered to “polish his image before Trump and his team.” Members of Maliki’s State of Law coalition declined to comment on this information.

Sources inside the Framework said the coalition may “ultimately withdraw Maliki’s nomination if he becomes too much of a burden on an already weary alliance.”

Doing so may cost them a strong ally in Maliki and force the Framework to yield to Washington’s will, said the Shiite figure. “Maliki may come off as stubborn and strong, but he is wasting his realistic options at this critical political juncture,” it added.

The Framework is divided between a team that is banking on waiting to see how the US-Iran tensions will play out to resolve the crisis and on Maliki voluntarily withdrawing his nomination. The other team is calling for the coalition to resolve the crisis through an internal vote.

Leading Shiite figures told Asharq Al-Awsat that opponents of Maliki’s nomination in the coalition have no choice but to apply internal pressure inside the Framework, which is on the verge of collapse.