DUBAI: The increase in the number of Houthi operations in Yemen and across the border in Saudi Arabia are proof the militia is a proxy for Iran’s ‘expansive agenda’, a senior Yemeni official said.
Yemen’s minister of information, culture and tourism, Muamar Al-Eryani, said in a statement that the “Houthi’s recent escalation of attacks confirms that it does not make decisions on war and peace, but rather only follows Iran’s expansive agenda.”
The Houthis work under Tehran’s envoy to Yemen, Hassan Eyrlou, to harm Saudi Arabia and threaten security of international energy and international maritime navigation, Al-Eryani said.
And he said the Biden administration’s removal of the Houthis from the terrorism list sent the wrong signals to the militia, who opted to resume military operations instead of taking a path to diplomacy.
The Arab coalition on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone launched towards Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia, the latest in a series of attacks aimed at destroying vital facilities in the Kingdom.
“The increased attacks and violence… confirm that they do not believe in peace and their faith is based on killing and unable to play a role in realizing peace,” Al-Eryani said.
Houthi escalation of attacks proof of Iran’s ‘expansive agenda’ says Yemeni official
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Houthi escalation of attacks proof of Iran’s ‘expansive agenda’ says Yemeni official
Iran, UK foreign ministers in rare direct contact
- A UK government source said Cooper “emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program and raised a number of other issues”
TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken by phone with his British counterpart Yvette Cooper, an Iranian foreign ministry statement said on Saturday, in a rare case of direct contact between the two countries.
The ministry said that in Friday’s call the ministers “stressed the need to continue consultations at various levels to strengthen mutual understanding and pursue issues of mutual interest.”
A UK government source said Cooper “emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program and raised a number of other issues.”
The source in London said Cooper raised the case of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple detained in Iran for nearly a year on suspicion of espionage.
The Iranian ministry statement did not mention the case of the two Britons.
It said Araghchi criticized “the irresponsible approach of the three European countries toward the Iranian nuclear issue,” referring to Britain, France and Germany.
The three countries at the end of September initiated the
reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.
The Foremans, both in their early fifties, were seized in January as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.
Iran accuses the couple of entering the country pretending to be tourists so as to gather information for foreign intelligence services, an allegation the couple’s family rejects.
Before Friday’s call, the last exchange between the two ministers was in October.
