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75 Yemeni Artifacts Seized During Smuggling Attempt to US

Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani during his participation at the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in Riyadh (Saba)
Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani during his participation at the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in Riyadh (Saba)
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75 Yemeni Artifacts Seized During Smuggling Attempt to US

Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani during his participation at the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in Riyadh (Saba)
Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani during his participation at the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in Riyadh (Saba)

The US authorities said 75 stolen Yemeni artifacts were seized during an attempt to smuggle them to the US.

This coincides with the Yemeni government's call for Arab backup to preserve the Yemeni heritage and restore stolen artifacts.

Ambassador of Yemen to the United States Mohammed Al-Hadhrami commended the efforts of the US Department of State and relevant authorities to activate the decision to protect the Yemeni heritage and ban the trafficking and smuggling of Yemeni antiquities.

During his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Lee Satterfield, he said that the Yemeni government appreciates the US security bodies’ efforts that led to seizing the antiquities.

This contributes to raising awareness, protecting the Yemeni heritage, and combatting the smuggling and trafficking of Yemeni antiquities in the future, according to Hadhrami.

Saba news agency cited Hadhrami as saying that the Yemeni side looks forward to more coordination in this regard in addition to benefiting from the support programs offered by Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

The AFCP supports the preservation of archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression.

For her part, Satterfield welcomed the rapid and serious responsiveness of the Yemeni government, hailing the ongoing coordination, especially intensifying efforts to combat Yemeni antiquities smuggling and trafficking to the US.

She affirmed the US continuous support to Yemen, namely in protecting its heritage, as well as the educational programs and scholarships available for developing countries.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani called on his Arab counterparts, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, and similar organizations to reinforce coordination in the protection of cultural heritage in Yemen.

The call was made at the 23rd Conference of Arab Culture Ministers held in Riyadh represented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization.

The Yemeni minister wondered how the future of the nation will be if tens of thousands of youths, if not hundreds or even millions, are deprived of education and getting recruited by extremist terrorist groups.

Eryani highlighted the terrorist Houthi practices, including destroying and looting the Yemeni cultural heritage intentionally and systematically.

In the past eight years, Yemen has undergone the biggest and most hideous deception in its modern and recent history by a terrorist group, the minister noted. He described this group as an “obeying tool” for the Iranian regime.

Eryani accused the Houthis of taking heritage sites and museums as military sites and weaponry warehouses.

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Larijani Set to Arrive in Beirut amid Wave of Lebanese Objections against Iranian Meddling

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
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Larijani Set to Arrive in Beirut amid Wave of Lebanese Objections against Iranian Meddling

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani is scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Wednesday amid a wave of objections by Lebanese officials over Tehran’s continued “meddling” in their country’s internal affairs.

Iranian officials recently rejected the Lebanese government’s decision last week to disarm Tehran-backed Hezbollah in what Lebanese officials viewed as foreign interference.

Larijani, flying in from Iraq, is set to meet with President Joseph Aoun, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

No meeting has been scheduled with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, revealed sources from the Foreign Ministry.

They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Larijani did not ask for a meeting with Raggi and had he done so, his request would have been rejected in wake of the “unacceptable” statements by Iranian officials over the government’s disarmament decision.

Last week, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, said the government’s move to disarm the group “will fail”.

“Iran rejects the disarmament of Hezbollah and it has long supported the Lebanese people and their resistance. It continues to do so today,” he added.

“This is not the first time that such ideas are floated in Lebanon, but they have failed and they will fail again,” he stressed. “The resistance [Hezbollah] will withstand these conspiracies.”

Raggi, a vocal critic of Iran’s meddling in Lebanon, was quick to condemn his remarks. “Some Iranian officials have gone too far in making suspicious comments about Lebanon’s internal decisions. We will not accept these Iranian practices,” he said.

“No party has the right to speak on behalf of the Lebanese people or claim to have authority over their sovereign decisions,” he stated.

It remains to be seen what Larijani’s visit holds, said sources close to the president. They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun will likely repeat to his guest the “firm principled positions” he continues to uphold.

In February, Aoun met with an Iranian delegation, informing them that “Lebanon has grown weary of others waging their wars on its territory.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials have criticized Larijani’s visit, with some demanding that he be turned away.

Democratic Gathering MP Bilal Abdullah said of some foreign visitors: “They should give Lebanon a break.”

“We have had enough of others’ wars on our country,” he told local radio.

In an indirect reference to US envoy Tom Barrack’s visit to Lebanon next week, he hoped that he would urge Israel to stop its violations of Lebanese sovereignty and end its daily assassinations.

Democratic Gathering MP Akram Chehayeb condemned in a post on X the visits by Iranian officials and “their decision to again meddle in Lebanon after everything that has happened.”

He dismissed their remarks as “delusions” and “unrealistic”, adding: “They don’t know when to quit.”

On Monday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the government “must seriously consider calling the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council to hold emergency meetings to address the Iranian threat against Lebanon.”

In a statement, he also suggested that it file a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over “Iran’s threats to Lebanon.”

Also on Monday, Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel expressed his party's “categorical rejection” of remarks by Iranian officials “because they are a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its state decisions.”

Hezbollah, meanwhile, continues to defy the government by refusing to disarm.

Party MP Ihab Hamadeh said on Tuesday: “No one should worry about the resistance and its future. Even if they try to remove the legitimacy of the weapons, these weapons have preserved Lebanon. The resistance is the party that gives legitimacy to others and doesn’t need legitimacy from anyone.”

“Along with the army, we have formed the golden equation, while the equation of the army, people and resistance will remain,” he vowed.