Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak stressed on Tuesday that the Iran-backed Houthi militias have militarized Yemeni regional waters and are using the Israeli war on Gaza as an excuse to achieve goals in Yemen.
Bin Awad, who is also foreign minister, was in Moscow where he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for talks on supporting Yemen economically and politically.
He was also seeking to change the international view of the Houthis and explain that they are impeding peace efforts in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the US military's Central Command said an American and an allied warship shot down five Houthi bomb-carrying drones in the Red Sea on Tuesday night.
The drones originated “from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and (it was) determined they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy and coalition ships in the region,” Central Command said in a statement.
Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. Those vessels have included at least one with cargo for Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled territory.
Despite over a month of US-led airstrikes, the Houthis remain capable of launching significant attacks.
Last week, they severely damaged a ship in a crucial strait and downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni government has said that the western strikes against the Houthis will not achieve their goal in limiting the militias’ military capabilities. It argues that the only way to do so lies in supporting the legitimate forces in restoring the state and ending the Houthi coup.
During his meeting with Lavrov, Bin Mubarak dismissed the Houthi claims that the Red Sea attacks were in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
He said: “The militias’ actions have internal goals and have nothing to do with championing the Palestinian people and their just cause.”
He also pointed to how the Houthis continue to deepen the suffering of the Yemeni people by attacking oil installations and maintaining their siege on Taiz city.
Moreover, he stressed that the American and British operations in Yemen have led to the tightening of the siege and led to negative repercussions that have impacted civilian marine navigation.
The Houthi actions are the main reason why the Red Sea has become militarized, he declared, adding that the peace negotiations in Yemen have also been obstructed due to the militias’ escalation at sea.
For his part, Lavrov said that securing marine navigation in the Red Sea must be a priority for all influential political actors.
