Yemen Demands Extension of Arms Embargo against Iran

Houthis ride on the back of a police patrol truck after participating in a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb.19, 2020. (Reuters)
Houthis ride on the back of a police patrol truck after participating in a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb.19, 2020. (Reuters)
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Yemen Demands Extension of Arms Embargo against Iran

Houthis ride on the back of a police patrol truck after participating in a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb.19, 2020. (Reuters)
Houthis ride on the back of a police patrol truck after participating in a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb.19, 2020. (Reuters)

The legitimate Yemeni government urged on Saturday the need to extend the arms embargo against Tehran after busting a Houthi cell that confessed to smuggling weapons from Iran.

In a series of tweets, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the cell admitted to receiving training in Iran and to having connections to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

“This is damning evidence of Iranian complicity in running smuggling operations and supporting the militias with weapons (ballistic missiles and drones) to implement their destructive agenda in the region,” he said.

The confessions confirm that the Houthis were exploiting the Stockholm agreement on Hodeidah in order to use the coastal city’s ports “to smuggle Iranian weapons, escalate their terrorist military operations in Yemen and target civilians in Saudi Arabia and oil and trade ships in the Red Sea, he continued.

Moreover, the minister said the Iranian regime’s ongoing smuggling of arms to the Houthis was a flagrant violation of relevant international resolutions on Yemen.



Turkish FM Discusses with Blinken Need to Cooperate with New Syrian Administration

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
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Turkish FM Discusses with Blinken Need to Cooperate with New Syrian Administration

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)

Türkiye's foreign minister discussed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday the need to act in cooperation with the new Syrian administration to ensure the completion of the transition period in an orderly manner, the ministry said.

In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Ankara would not allow Kurdish YPG militia to take shelter in Syria, the ministry spokesperson said.

During the call, Blinken emphasized the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that "upholds human rights and prioritizes an inclusive and representative government," according to a statement from the US State Department.

Blinken and Fidan also discussed preventing terrorism from endangering the security of Türkiye and Syria, the statement said.