Anwar Iqbal Published March 17, 2023
In this July 8, 2020 photo, Houthi fighters man a machine gun mounted on a military truck as they parade during a gathering of Houthi loyalists on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. — Reuters/File
WASHINGTON: Iran has agreed to halt covert weapons shipments to its Houthi allies in Yemen as part of a China-brokered deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
This “move could inject new momentum into efforts to end one of the region’s longest-running civil wars”, said the newspaper while commenting on the development.
For years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have backed opposing sides in the Yemen conflict, fueling a war that has had disastrous humanitarian consequences and spilled beyond the country’s borders.
US and Saudi officials, who spoke to WSJ, said if Tehran stopped arming the Houthis, it “could put pressure on the militant group to reach a deal to end the conflict”.
A spokesman for the Iranian delegation to the United Nations declined to comment when WSJ asked whether Tehran would suspend arms shipments. Tehran publicly denies that it supplies the Houthis with weapons.
Last week, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a China-backed agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties seven years after they were severed. This prompted speculations that Iran would now press the Houthis to end attacks on Saudi Arabia.
One Saudi official told WSJ that the kingdom expects Iran to respect a UN arms embargo meant to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis. “A cutoff of weapons supplies could make it harder for the militants to strike the kingdom and seize more ground in Yemen,” WSJ commented.
Hans Grundberg, the special UN envoy for Yemen, flew to Tehran earlier this week to discuss Iran’s role in ending the war, and then on to Riyadh. Tim Lenderking, the special US envoy for Yemen, met Saudi officials in Riyadh on Wednesday to make another attempt to reinvigorate stalled peace talks.
The top priority is to extend a cease-fire that has held in Yemen for nearly a year. The formal truce expired in October, but the rival factions have continued to largely honour the cease-fire. Diplomats want a new deal on extending the cease-fire before the start of Ramadan next week.
More than 150,000 people have died as a direct result of the war. Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, fueling calls for the US and its allies to cut off military support to Riyadh.
In the past three months, the US military and its allies have claimed seizing four ships off the Yemen coast carrying more than 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, dozens of antitank missiles, and fertilizer, which can be used to make explosives.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2023
After the Saudi-Iran deal, will Tehran force the Houthis to peace talks?
It is clear that the Houthis have a relationship with the Islamic Republic and that the Saudi-Iran deal could change the course of the conflict in Yemen, expert says.
By MOHAMMED SAYERS/THE MEDIA LINE
Published: MARCH 17, 2023
Newly recruited Houthi soldiers march during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent fighting against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 6, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sunday as part of his efforts to put an end to Yemen’s nearly decade-old civil war. Grundberg met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian for consultations over the situation in Yemen, including the latest prospects for peace, a possible prisoner exchange and the country’s humanitarian crisis. During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic backs any negotiations which would help establish peace and stability in Yemen.
The visit to Tehran came just days after Saudi Arabia and Iran signed an agreement ending the years-long diplomatic rift between the two countries.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations also reaffirmed that Amir-Abdollahian promised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to host talks that would put an end to the crisis in Yemen
Iran's links to Yemen's Houthis
Many analysts and observers see a strong relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ansar Allah movement, the armed wing of the de facto authority in Yemen (DFA) - which rules the north of the country, known collectively as the Houthis.
This relationship is seen in speeches by Houthi officials, including the leader of the movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. It is also evidenced by attempts to smuggle weapons from Iran into Yemen, as well as the presence of Iranian military experts in Yemen.
It is clear that the Houthis have a relationship with the Islamic Republic and that the Saudi-Iran deal could change the course of the conflict in Yemen, expert says.
By MOHAMMED SAYERS/THE MEDIA LINE
Published: MARCH 17, 2023
Newly recruited Houthi soldiers march during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent fighting against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 6, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sunday as part of his efforts to put an end to Yemen’s nearly decade-old civil war. Grundberg met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian for consultations over the situation in Yemen, including the latest prospects for peace, a possible prisoner exchange and the country’s humanitarian crisis. During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic backs any negotiations which would help establish peace and stability in Yemen.
The visit to Tehran came just days after Saudi Arabia and Iran signed an agreement ending the years-long diplomatic rift between the two countries.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations also reaffirmed that Amir-Abdollahian promised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to host talks that would put an end to the crisis in Yemen
Iran's links to Yemen's Houthis
Many analysts and observers see a strong relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ansar Allah movement, the armed wing of the de facto authority in Yemen (DFA) - which rules the north of the country, known collectively as the Houthis.
This relationship is seen in speeches by Houthi officials, including the leader of the movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. It is also evidenced by attempts to smuggle weapons from Iran into Yemen, as well as the presence of Iranian military experts in Yemen.
Houthi police troopers sit atop an armored personnel carrier securing a rally held to mark the Ghadeer day, in Sana'a, Yemen on July 17, 2022
(credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
Many observers believe that the Saudi-Iran agreement will have an effect on the decisions and actions of the DFA, and that it will compel the Houthis to agree to enter into peace negotiations.
Wedad al-Qadi, a lecturer at Sanaa University who specializes in political sociology, told the Media Line that it is clear that the Houthis have a relationship with Iran and that the Saudi-Iran deal could change the course of the conflict in Yemen.
Many observers believe that the Saudi-Iran agreement will have an effect on the decisions and actions of the DFA, and that it will compel the Houthis to agree to enter into peace negotiations.
Wedad al-Qadi, a lecturer at Sanaa University who specializes in political sociology, told the Media Line that it is clear that the Houthis have a relationship with Iran and that the Saudi-Iran deal could change the course of the conflict in Yemen.
“The Houthis implicitly admitted the existence of a relationship with Iran, just like the Lebanese Hezbollah group did.”Wedad al-Qadi
“The Houthis implicitly admitted the existence of a relationship with Iran, just like the Lebanese Hezbollah group did,” she said.
Qadi says that any change in Iran’s policy in the region will be implemented by its proxies, including Ansar Allah, Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces.
“The same applies to the members of the internationally recognized government (of Yemen) – their polices will match those of Saudi Arabia’s new policies toward the Houthis; if the conflict between them is over, then so will the conflict between their proxies,” she concluded.
There also appears to be a connection between the changes in Yemen’s civil war and the Saudi-Iran deal.
First, there was the truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, followed by the Oman-sponsored talks between the internationally recognized government of Yemen (IRG) and the Houthis. After that, the Saudi-Iran agreement became public and, around the same time, the ongoing negotiations in Geneva between the Houthis and the IRG began to resolve some thorny issues including the issue of prisoners of war on both sides.
Houthi officials have denied the existence of any relationship or influence of the Saudi-Iran deal on the Houthi’s decision to participate in the talks. “That decision depends on sovereign conditions stipulated by Ansar Allah,” according to Sharaf al-Mahdi, a DFA supervisor in the Council of Ministers in Sanaa.
Mahdi told The Media Line that “the recent negotiations between the Ansar Allah group and the IRG aims mainly at concluding the prisoners issue.” He added that “any future talks regarding political settlement is conditioned on the Gulf state’s exit from Yemen,” referring to Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition of Arab countries in support of the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
“This is too far-fetched; we are an independent state with full sovereignty. The Saudi-Iran deal has no impact on Ansar Allah’s vision for Yemen’s crisis. The Yemeni issue is not Iran’s issue.”Sharaf al-Mahdi
When confronted with the idea that the war in Yemen is tied to the Saudi-Iran deal, Mahdi vehemently rejected the premise. “This is too far-fetched; we are an independent state with full sovereignty. The Saudi-Iran deal has no impact on Ansar Allah’s vision for Yemen’s crisis. The Yemeni issue is not Iran’s issue,” Mahdi said.
Official Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdel Salam tweeted praise for the Saudi-Iran normalization, saying that it is time for the resumption of normal relationships in the region and the Iranian “scarecrow” used to provoke the war on Yemen is no longer valid.
The meetings between the IRG and the Houthis are still in progress in Geneva within the framework of negotiations aimed at concluding an agreement on an exchange of prisoners of war, setting up a mechanism for paying public sector employees’ salaries, and resolving economic issues before entering into a comprehensive political settlement.
Yemenis hope that this round of negotiations will bring peace to the war-torn country which has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
Qadi says that any change in Iran’s policy in the region will be implemented by its proxies, including Ansar Allah, Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces.
“The same applies to the members of the internationally recognized government (of Yemen) – their polices will match those of Saudi Arabia’s new policies toward the Houthis; if the conflict between them is over, then so will the conflict between their proxies,” she concluded.
There also appears to be a connection between the changes in Yemen’s civil war and the Saudi-Iran deal.
First, there was the truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, followed by the Oman-sponsored talks between the internationally recognized government of Yemen (IRG) and the Houthis. After that, the Saudi-Iran agreement became public and, around the same time, the ongoing negotiations in Geneva between the Houthis and the IRG began to resolve some thorny issues including the issue of prisoners of war on both sides.
Houthi officials have denied the existence of any relationship or influence of the Saudi-Iran deal on the Houthi’s decision to participate in the talks. “That decision depends on sovereign conditions stipulated by Ansar Allah,” according to Sharaf al-Mahdi, a DFA supervisor in the Council of Ministers in Sanaa.
Mahdi told The Media Line that “the recent negotiations between the Ansar Allah group and the IRG aims mainly at concluding the prisoners issue.” He added that “any future talks regarding political settlement is conditioned on the Gulf state’s exit from Yemen,” referring to Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition of Arab countries in support of the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
“This is too far-fetched; we are an independent state with full sovereignty. The Saudi-Iran deal has no impact on Ansar Allah’s vision for Yemen’s crisis. The Yemeni issue is not Iran’s issue.”Sharaf al-Mahdi
When confronted with the idea that the war in Yemen is tied to the Saudi-Iran deal, Mahdi vehemently rejected the premise. “This is too far-fetched; we are an independent state with full sovereignty. The Saudi-Iran deal has no impact on Ansar Allah’s vision for Yemen’s crisis. The Yemeni issue is not Iran’s issue,” Mahdi said.
Official Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdel Salam tweeted praise for the Saudi-Iran normalization, saying that it is time for the resumption of normal relationships in the region and the Iranian “scarecrow” used to provoke the war on Yemen is no longer valid.
The meetings between the IRG and the Houthis are still in progress in Geneva within the framework of negotiations aimed at concluding an agreement on an exchange of prisoners of war, setting up a mechanism for paying public sector employees’ salaries, and resolving economic issues before entering into a comprehensive political settlement.
Yemenis hope that this round of negotiations will bring peace to the war-torn country which has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
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