Iran, Russia demand immediate halt to Saudi-led intervention in Yemen

[Loki]

Iran, Russia demand immediate halt to Saudi-led intervention in Yemen


An armed man gestures as he stands on the rubble of houses destroyed by an air strike near Sanaa Airport March 26, 2015.

Iran and Russia have called on Saudi Arabia to halt airstrikes on Yemen as supporters of Yemen’s ruling Houthi militants stage demonstrations throughout the country, protesting against the Saudi-led military intervention.

Speaking to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russia’s Vladimir Putin called for an "immediate cessation of military activities" in Yemen and for the boosting of efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that military operations against Yemen will only lead to further destabilization of the region, which has fallen under Houthi control after an onslaught of increased violence in recent months.

“We demand an immediate stop to the Saudi military operations in Yemen,” he said in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language al-Alam news network on Thursday. “We will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen.”

Iran is suspected of providing supplies and training to the Houthi rebels, but Tehran has publicly denied these claims.

A United Arab Emirates official, however, expressed concerns about Iran's influence in Yemen.

"The strategic change in the region benefits Iran and we cannot be silent about the fact that the Houthis carry their banner," UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash tweeted on Thursday.

In addition, Lebanon’s Hezbollah has decried the move as “unjust aggression.” The Shiite group urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to cease the strikes immediately.

"This adventure, [which] lacks wisdom and legal and legitimate justification and which is led by Saudi Arabia, is taking the region towards increased tension and dangers for the future and the present of the region," the group said in a statement on Thursday.


Followers of the Houthi movement demonstrate to show support to the movement in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada March 26, 2015.

Saudi-led strikes, launched early Thursday morning, targeted the country’s capital Sanaa as well as a southern base. Following the strikes, a Houthi revolutionary committee called for mass rallies to stir up public support for a military response to the Saudi intervention.

“We will react against Saudi oppression in all ways we are capable...Yemeni blood is not cheap. Saudi has announced war in Yemen,” said Ali Al Kohom, a member of the Houthi Political Council.

Houthi leadership has also maintained that the country is ready to ward of Saudi aggression without help from Tehran.

“Yemeni people are prepared to face this aggression without any foreign interference," Houthi politburo official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told Reuters.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said that a military response will not solve the crisis in Yemen, and urged all parties to act “responsibly.”

“I’m convinced that military action is not a solution,” she said. “At this critical juncture, all regional actors should act responsibly and constructively to create as a matter of urgency the conditions for a return to negotiations.”

Though Washington is not involved directly in the operation, the White House has authorized “logistical and intelligence support.”

Yemen’s ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi left the country's southern city of Aden on Thursday, where he had been holing up since fleeing Houthi custody in February. Saudi state TV said he has arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh and will later head to Egypt under Saudi protection, where he is expected to attend an Arab summit on Saturday.

An escalating conflict in Yemen could bode badly for global oil supplies, as oil prices spiked more than four percent on Thursday.

[Vullkan]

I think saudis showed the true color here .A week ago they said military intervention was out of the question now they bomb them.

These arab countries did not do anything to isis in syria and iraq but now want to kill hut hies that have not done any massacres and have displaced civilians with tear gas.

Sunni Arabia put tanks in Bahrain where 80 percent is shia and now want to throw the balance by force.

I guess there is no honor in the world now.

[N1019]

Russia and Iran can demand a halt to Saudi-led and American-blessed intervention all they like. Of course, they have to demand it. Unfortunately, from a Saudi perspective it probably "had to be done", especially since their Wahhabi proxies aren't faring too well. They can't be expected to stand by and watch as their neighbour is overrun by an Iranian proxy, even if the Houthis aren't eating the hearts of their victims or beheading them. Iran knows this, but they don't care about innocent civilians, either, and they'll condemn Saudi Arabia to the whole world while adding their own fuel to the fire. I feel sorry for the innocent victims of the destruction of yet another country.

[Darth Revan]

Completely unsurprising that Saudi intervention so far has been reduced to aerial bombardment.
I was secretly hoping for their leadership to be dumb enough to send tanks and infantry to the mountains of Northern Yemen, kind of how they did in Bahrain. Would have been a glorious sight watching Ansarullah send Wahhabi skulls flying sky high.

Pity. I guess that even if Bandar is no longer chief of intelligence, some dose of pragmatism and wit is still around in Saudi intelligence.

[Darth Revan]

Btw:

An escalating conflict in Yemen could bode badly for global oil supplies, as oil prices spiked more than four percent on Thursday.

<3

[poiuytrewq0987]

The situation in Yemen was inflamed by Iran and their money. Of course, Iran and her ally, Russia, are going to call for whatever ends the intervention against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia absolutely needs to intervene and restore order. It's about time we have a responsible country in the Middle East that is interested in stability than changing regimes (like what Iran is trying to do in Yemen by installing a pro-Shia government).

[Dombra]

The situation in Yemen was inflamed by Iran and their money. Of course, Iran and her ally, Russia, are going to call for whatever ends the intervention against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia absolutely needs to intervene and restore order. It's about time we have a responsible country in the Middle East that is interested in stability than changing regimes (like what Iran is trying to do in Yemen by installing a pro-Shia government).

Saudi ´rabia to bring demucracy and stability, much like their American homies?

[RandoBloom]

What happened to the Russian "We cant allow hostiles so close to our borders"?
Lol, fucking slaveic mentality.

[poiuytrewq0987]

Saudi ´rabia to bring demucracy and stability, much like their American homies?

Nah, it's not an ideological battle but rather a battle for stability. Iran is just going to use Yemen as a launching pad for terrorism so an end needs to be put to the Houthi insurgency.

[Darth Revan]

The situation in Yemen was inflamed by Iran and their money. Of course, Iran and her ally, Russia, are going to call for whatever ends the intervention against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia absolutely needs to intervene and restore order. It's about time we have a responsible country in the Middle East that is interested in stability than changing regimes (like what Iran is trying to do in Yemen by installing a pro-Shia government).

Ansarullah isn't like Hezbollah. This is a typical association that is made in Western press, hellbent on playing the Iranian boogeyman.
It's not "Iranian money"; the prime cause behind the surge of Abdelmalek Al-Houthi as power broker in Yemen, is ironically, the 2011 Revolt that sacked Saleh from power and left a power vacuum that Hadi and his MB allies of Islah never managed to fill.

Yes, Iranian assets and intelligence have been transfered to them, and the Houthis reciprocated by freeing all the IRGC prisoners that Yemen had, when they seized control of Sanaa a few months back. But, Al-Houthi has interests of his own, and the organization has a good dose of autonomy.