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Yemen in war of words with Iran
 Suspected Yemeni rebels sit in a Saudi police vehicle after being detained in Jizan, near the border with Yemen, on Nov. 9. (AFP/Getty Images) |
SANAA — Yemen has again accused Iran of funding Houthi insurgents. Central Security Chief of Staff Brig GenYahya Salih asserted that rebels could not have continued their fight against government forces without external support.
He said, “The Houthis are unable to finance this war through their pomegranates, grapes or drugs. There is no doubt that there is Iranian support, especially given that the Yemeni state is spending billions of riyals to end their insurgency.”
Salih made the statement a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned against foreign intervention in Yemen. He added that it was necessary for Yemen to start talking with its people, including the Shiite minority rebel group.
In any case, Yemeni Minister of Islamic Trusts Sheikh Hamoud Al-Hattar stated that there is no discrimination against Shiite Muslims. He said, “The Houthis are an armed movement using force to achieve their goals. They have an imperial agenda. This became clear when they started fighting against Saudi Arabia. They want to create a state in northern Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia.”
Iranian Shura Council head Ali Larijani accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen. He condemned what he called “the increase in attacks against non-Sunni Muslims.” Larijani wondered "how the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques would allow himself to kill innocent Muslims during the sacred months,” a reference to Ramadan and Saudi King Abdullah.
The Yemeni government stated that it has urged Iran to stop supplying and financing Houthi militants. It modified its position, stating that although the Iranian government has not officially financed the rebels directly, religious authorities in Iran are doing so, and warned Iranian authorities this practise must be stopped.
The rebels, in turn, have accused Riyadh of providing bases in Saudi Arabia near the border to Yemeni forces to carry out attacks on them from across the border.
Sources:
Reader Comments
The Iranian expansion in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and some African countries, as well as the Shia minorities all over the world, cannot be stopped without changing the political strategy and methodology of the ruling elite in Iran. That is because it believes that its responsibilities are not confined within the Iranian borders, but go beyond them to include supporting Shias everywhere and restoring the grandeur of the Persian Empire, and the Iranian authorities are keen on celebrating all its festivals, in spite of the fact that they are not Islamic. Nevertheless, they do so do deepen the national Persian feelings in the first place, and then to mobilize all Iranians and Shias worldwide to adhere to the Iranian objectives. Confronting the Iranian greed will take neither a long nor a short time; it requires immunizing the countries that are targeted by the Iranian policies until we manage to change the Iranian political strategy and methodology. This change is necessary and it should take place as soon as possible, because the passage of time benefits the Shiite rule in Tehran. Iran is exploiting the corruption, poverty, and religious persecution of the Shias all over the world to infiltrate among them and introduce itself as their savior. Of course, no Shia group will reject this support. Therefore, spreading the values of democracy, equal opportunity, equality and improving the living standards of the targeted countries and groups, particularly those of the Shia minorities, will cripple, weaken and limit the Iranian expansion. This will be for the benefit of Iran itself, which will take care only of its own affairs and invest all its wealth and efforts into raising the living standards of the Iranian people and contributing positively to world civilization.
Arabs and Muslims, beware of the danger coming from Iran. It will support the Shiites in Yemen in the north and the separatists in the south to punish Yemen and harm its security and unity, because the regime in Sanaa is close to Saudi Arabia. Iran wants to interfere in all of the affairs of Arab states and to gain influence and presence there. Beware and support Yemen, its unity and its stability. God, know that I have passed on this message. God, you are my Witness.
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