The Yemeni government filed on Wednesday a complaint to the Lebanese government protesting the “Hezbollah” party’s support for the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
“Hezbollah”, which is also backed by Iran, has been accused by the Saudi-led Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen of providing arms to the Houthis.
The Yemeni government condemned “Hezbollah” chief Hassan Nasrallah for recently calling on the Lebanese people to support the Houthis against the legitimate government of President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi.
The message was sent by Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani to his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil.
Yamani lamented that “Hezbollah” had harmed Lebanon’s strong ties with Yemen through its training, plotting, incitement and support of the Houthi militia that had staged a coup against the legitimate Yemeni authorities in 2014 in pursuit of an Iranian expansionist agenda.
“Hezbollah’s” support for the Houthis was evident during a speech by Nasrallah on June 29 in which he expressed his party’s readiness and desire to fight in Yemen alongside the Houthis against the internationally-recognized legitimate government, continued the minister.
Yamani condemned this “unjustified hostile” stance as blatant violation in Yemen’s internal affairs that will only lead to “major damage to its higher interest and national security, fan the flames of war and prolong its crisis.”
He stressed that the Yemeni government reserves its right to raise this issue at the Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and United Nations Security Council, all of which call for respecting the sovereignty of states.
Yamani had informed Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that the complaint would be referred to the Security Council.
Yemen’s Ambassador to the United States and UN Dr. Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak later confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the complaint was indeed sent to the Council.
Meanwhile, an official from the Lebanese foreign ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat that it had not yet received the formal complaint.
It added that Bassil was abroad and could not comment on the development, “which we only heard about from the media.”
“We will make a stance when we receive it through official channels,” he added.
