Yemeni Army Accuses Militias of Testing Anti-Ship Missile

All evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process. Photo: Houthi media
All evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process. Photo: Houthi media
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Yemeni Army Accuses Militias of Testing Anti-Ship Missile

All evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process. Photo: Houthi media
All evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process. Photo: Houthi media

The Yemeni army accused the Houthi militia of testing an anti-ship missile launched from Sanaa, which landed in the Red Sea waters off Hodeidah.

The army spokesman, Brigadier General Abdo Majali, announced that the Houthis conducted an anti-ship missile test from the Nehm district, which landed west of Hodeidah in international waters.

Majali warned the militias of the consequences, considering it another hostile operation.

He stressed that all evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process and its continuous support for the militia.

Houthi threats and targeting of Shabwa and Hadramout ports undermine regional and international security, said Majali, calling on the international community to shoulder its responsibility in protecting international waterways and ensuring freedom of maritime navigation.

Meanwhile, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, asserted that the decision to classify the Houthis as a terrorist group takes into consideration concerns about the flow of aid.

Alimi received in Riyadh the Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy, Inger Tangborn, and they discussed the latest developments in Yemen and the joint efforts to alleviate peoples' suffering.

Official sources said that the meeting touched on the repercussions of Houthi terrorist threats and attacks on the economic and commercial facilities upon the livelihoods of the Yemeni people, the international security and peace, and the required measures to contain those implications.

Alimi cited the government measures to deter the Houthi terrorist threat, including the National Defense Council's resolution to designate the militia as a terrorist organization.

According to official sources, the President reassured humanitarian organizations, relief agencies, and the private sector, stressing that designating Houthis as a terrorist organization will take into account all concerns related to the flow of aid to the Yemeni people, warning against dealing with militias outside the framework of approved agreements.

The President highly praised the role of the UK and US in supporting the Central Bank of Yemen with $300 million from Yemen's Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund, reported Saba News Agency.

He asserted the importance of this step to bolster trust in the national currency, help ongoing imports of essential commodities, and improve the livelihood of the Yemeni people across the country.

The President praised the US efforts to implement the resolution to ban weapons sent to the Houthi terrorist militias, which led to the interception of many Iranian smuggling ships, most recently when the US Fifth Fleet intercepted an Iranian ship laden with explosives in the Gulf of Oman.

Yemenis and the international community fear that the Houthi escalation would torpedo all peace efforts, especially since the group insisted on rejecting to renew the UN-sponsored ceasefire and deliberately aggravated the situation by bombing oil export ports.

Next week, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, will brief the UN Security Council on his latest efforts to persuade the Houthis to renew the armistice.



UN Chief: UNIFIL Uncovered Over 100 Hezbollah Arms Caches in South Lebanon

This handout picture provided by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R), shaking hands with UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz (L), upon his arrival at the forces' headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Pascual Gorriz / UNIFIL / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R), shaking hands with UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz (L), upon his arrival at the forces' headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Pascual Gorriz / UNIFIL / AFP)
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UN Chief: UNIFIL Uncovered Over 100 Hezbollah Arms Caches in South Lebanon

This handout picture provided by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R), shaking hands with UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz (L), upon his arrival at the forces' headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Pascual Gorriz / UNIFIL / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), shows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (R), shaking hands with UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz (L), upon his arrival at the forces' headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Pascual Gorriz / UNIFIL / AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, has uncovered over 100 weapons caches belonging to Hezbollah or other armed groups since the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Nov. 27.

He reiterated that Lebanese government forces as well as UN peacekeepers are the only sides who should have armed presence south of the Litani river near the border with Israel. He said the presence of other forces, an apparent reference to Hezbollah, “undermine Lebanon’s stability.”

Guterres made his comments Friday during a visit to the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura in south Lebanon near the border with Israel.

Speaking about military operations by Israeli troops inside Lebanon since the announcement of the 60-day truce, Guterres said: “They must stop.”

He said such operations were in violation of Security Council resolution 1701, adding Israel must withdraw from Lebanese territories.

Addressing the assembled leadership of the UN mission, he emphasized the critical role of peacekeepers, stating: “You are not just on the Blue Line of Lebanon but on the frontline of peace. The UNIFIL mission is the most challenging environment for peacekeepers anywhere.”

After returning to the capital Beirut in the afternoon, the Secretary-General held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was also visiting the Lebanese capital.

The Secretary-General's visit will continue on Saturday, with a full day of meetings in Beirut.

He is scheduled to meet President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri.