Iran outraged by Saudi airstrikes on Houthis
Rebel leader condemns ‘ criminal, unjust, brutal and sinful’ campaign
Saudi Arabia bombed key military installations in Yemen on Thursday, leading a regional coalition in a campaign against Shiite rebels who have taken over much of the country and drove out the president. The dramatic military assault turns impoverished, fragmented Yemen into a new front in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Egyptian military and security officials said the military intervention will go further, with a ground assault into Yemen by Egyptian, Saudi and other forces, planned once airstrikes have weakened the capabilities of the rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies, military forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The strikes that began before dawn barraged Sanaa and three other provinces, hitting a Sanaa airbase, military bases and antiaircraft positions — and flattened a number of homes near Sanaa’s airport, killing at least 18 civilians. A new intense round of strikes came Thursday evening, rocking the capital with a rain of missiles.
In an angry, televised speech Thursday night, rebel leader Abdul- Malik al- Houthi accused the United States, Saudis, and Israel of launching a “criminal, unjust, brutal and sinful” campaign aimed at invading and occupying Yemen.
“Yemenis won’t accept such humiliation” he said, calling the Saudis “stupid” and “evil.”
White House spokesman Eric Schultz, speaking to reporters Thursday aboard Air Force One en route to Alabama, said President Barack Obama had authorized logistical and intelligence support for the strikes but that the U. S. is not joining with direct military action.
Iran, which i s allied to the Houthis, denounced the bombing, noting the civilian deaths. Iran “considers this action a dangerous step,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a statement. “This invasion will bear no result but expansion of terrorism and extremism throughout the whole region.”
The sudden internationalization of the Yemen conflict brewing for months throws a new convolution in the twisted threads of conflict in the Middle East. The new tension puts the United States, a traditional ally of Saudi Arabia, in a precarious situation with Tehran as it tries to negotiate a nuclear deal before the end of this month.
In Iraq, the U. S. and Iran are implicitly on the same side — both helping the Shiite- led government in Baghdad battle Islamic State group militants, though Tehran and Washington are intently avoiding any actual contacts. In Yemen, the U. S. is backing the Gulf and its allies against Shiite rebels allied to Iran — while at the same time, al- Qaida’s branch in the country is also fighting the Shiite rebels.
Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunniled allies in the Gulf and the Middle East view the Houthi takeover as a move by Iran to establish a proxy on the kingdom’s southern border. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebel movement, though Tehran says it gives it diplomatic and humanitarian support.
In a pre- dawn statement as the airstrikes began, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain said their action aimed to “protect” Yemenis from Houthis who are “a tool in the hands of foreign powers.”
Over t he past months, t he Houthis have swept out of their northern strongholds to take over the capital and much of the north. The U. S.- and Gulf- backed president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, was forced to flee to the southern port of Aden, hoping to cling to authority with the backing of some police and military units and allied militiamen. But as the Houthis and their allies bore down on Aden, Hadi left the country by boat on
This invasion will bear no result but expansion of terrorism and extremism throughout the whole region. MARZIEH AFKHAM
Wednesday afternoon, according to security officials.
Hadi reappeared Thursday evening, arriving by plane at an airbase in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saudi state TV reported.
A Yemeni security official said the president had gone by boat to the Yemeni port of al- Mukalla in the western province of Hadramawt, where he spent the night. The next day, he drove across the border into neighbouring Oman and from there was flown to Riyadh.
Hadi is expected to attend an Arab summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el- Sheikh that begins Saturday.