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.



EU Could Lift Some Syria Sanctions Quickly

FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
TT

EU Could Lift Some Syria Sanctions Quickly

FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

European Union sanctions in Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country's recovery could be lifted swiftly, France's foreign minister said Wednesday.
The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could take a similar decision soon without giving precise timing, while adding that lifting more political sanctions would depend on how Syria's new leadership handled the transition and ensured exclusivity.
"There are other (sanctions), which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which hinder the recovery of the country. These could be lifted quickly," said Barrot, who met Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday with Germany's foreign minister.
"Finally, there are other sanctions, which we are discussing with our European partners, which could be lifted, but obviously depending on the pace at which our expectations for Syria regarding women and security are taken into account."
Three European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the EU would seek to agree to lift some sanctions by the time the bloc's 27 foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Jan. 27.
Two of the diplomats said one aim was to facilitate financial transactions to allow funds to return to the country, ease air transport and lessen sanctions targeting the energy sector to improve power supplies.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available two or three hours per day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims to provide electricity for up to eight hours per day within two months.
The US waivers allow some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7, but do not remove any sanctions.