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US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Iran Interference Makes It Difficult to Find a Path for Peace in Yemen

US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid holds videoconference meeting with the media, Asharq Al-Awsat
US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid holds videoconference meeting with the media, Asharq Al-Awsat
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US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Iran Interference Makes It Difficult to Find a Path for Peace in Yemen

US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid holds videoconference meeting with the media, Asharq Al-Awsat
US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid holds videoconference meeting with the media, Asharq Al-Awsat

US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid on Wednesday stressed the importance of promoting security in the Middle East and deterring the malign Iranian threat in the region, confirming that Iranian interference in Yemen is blocking the path to peace.

Abizaid’s remarks were made at a videoconference meeting attended by Asharq Al-Awsat.

The roundtable with journalists touched on a number of topics, including US relations with Saudi Arabia and policy on regional threats in the Middle East.

While the world waits on the results of the upcoming US election, Abizaid said that he sees no change in the future relationship between Riyadh and Washington.

“There may be some emphasis on different areas that will be different, but I wouldn’t anticipate that the relationship will be anything other than what it has been for 75 years, which is the rock of stability in the region,” he said.

It is worth noting that on October 14, the US and Saudi Arabia held a strategic in Washington.

Abizaid referred to Saudi Arabia's efforts to free US citizens who were held hostage by terrorist Houthi militia in Yemen.

The abducted US nationals were working to restore peace to Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia and UN Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths.

Iranian interference in Yemen makes it more difficult for Houthis to find a path for peace, the US diplomat noted.

Abizaid affirmed that Saudi Arabia and the US share a common goal centered on promoting peace and stability in the region.

Speaking about threats in the region, Abizaid pointed out to Iran deploying its arms in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Referring to the Saudi-US dialogue, Abizaid said the discussions in Washington focused on cooperation in defense, security and intelligence, and critical infrastructure protection, along with promoting resilient energy markets, “especially in light of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Of course, we also talked about the importance of using only trusted vendors and critical information and communications technology in exploring new areas of cooperation and cybersecurity and other areas,” he added.

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Millions of Children to Suffer from Trump Aid Cuts

Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
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Millions of Children to Suffer from Trump Aid Cuts

Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File

When he grows up, five-year-old Ahmad wants to be "stronger than Spider-Man".
But his dream clashes with a harsh reality -- the Jordanian boy has a serious disability, and major US aid cuts mean he will likely miss out on vital care.
Like him, millions of children around the world are suffering from the sweeping cuts ordered by US President Donald Trump.
All are grappling with hardship in one form or other: war, crime, global warming, poverty, disease and more.
Ahmad, who has a spinal malformation, cannot hold his torso upright and is paralyzed from the waist down.
The boy was receiving physiotherapy sessions from Handicap International "to strengthen his upper limbs and enable him, later on, to walk with crutches," said his father, Mahmud Abdulrahman, a 30-year-old day laborer.
Abdulrahman said the non-governmental organization was also due to provide orthotics and prosthetics to straighten Ahmad's lower limbs -- none of which he could afford on his meagre salary.
Now, none of that will happen.
The Wehdat Rehabilitation Center they attended in Jordan's capital Amman was one of the first victims of Trump's aid cuts.
More than 600 patients found themselves deprived of care overnight.
Prosthetics already specially designed for around 30 children, as well as wheelchairs, could not be delivered to them, on Washington's orders.
"The movement that was taught will be forgotten," said Dr Abdullah Hmoud, a physiotherapist who worked at the center, describing the potential losses as "catastrophic".
There is also emotional suffering.
When he realized he would no longer see his physiotherapist, "Ahmad stopped eating for three days. He didn't want to get up," said his father.
With the closure of his rehabilitation center, "I feel like they want to kill me," the boy said in a hushed voice.
Global fallout
Ahmad's story is one among many in a wave of horror accounts surfacing from the humanitarian sector since the United States said it was cutting 83 percent of its aid.
USAID -- which the Trump administration has dismantled -- had supported 42 percent of all aid distributed globally, with a $42.8 billion budget.
At a refugee camp in Bangladesh, home to a million Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar, half of them children, Save the Children has been forced to ration food.
The NGO fears desperate families could be pushed to hand over daughters to traffickers or send sons on dangerous sea crossings to Malaysia for work.
In Mozambique, Solidarites International had to shut down a program providing food and water to internally displaced people, including tens of thousands of children.
In Malawi, similar numbers will no longer receive free school meals, according to another NGO which requested anonymity for fear of US reprisals.
Without food, many children will drop out of school -- all the more galling, the NGO said, as millions of meals are reportedly left to rot in warehouses due to the US decision.
"It's like the rug is being pulled out from under their feet," said one staff member.
'Last lifelines'
Women and girls are often the first to lose out, with their education traditionally sacrificed first.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it will have to "significantly reduce" aid to women and girls in Afghanistan because the US funds paid for many of the female staff who worked with them.
"The very last lifelines for many women and girls will be taken away," said Camilla Waszink, a director at the organization.
Malnutrition already affects 150 million children under five, and the numbers could surge.
"Millions of additional children will suffer stunted growth" and impaired brain capacity, said Kevin Goldberg, director of Solidarites International.
In another blow to children, Washington is expected to drastically reduce funding for vaccination programs in poor countries.
Sania Nishtar, CEO of the Vaccine Alliance, warned the cuts -- if confirmed -- could result in "an estimated 1.3 million children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases".