Arab Coalition: World should hold Iran responsible for Houthis’ malicious activities
The international community should hold the Iranian regime responsible for the Houthi militia’s two explosive-laden boats which were targeting maritime routes and the Arab Coalition destroyed, the coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki told Al Arabiya on Thursday.
The Arab Coalition had earlier announced that it targeted two Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) laden with explosives in the Red Sea and destroyed them six kilometers south of the Yemeni port of Salif.
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Al-Maliki added: “There has been a deliberate escalation recently in targeting maritime routes and civilians.”
“Since the end of June… we’ve noticed the Houthi militias escalating their attempts to target civilians in Saudi Arabia, in Yemeni areas, and to threaten maritime routes and international trade. The important aspect here is that there is no doubt that the Iranian regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are dictating (orders for those attempts).”
“The (Houthi) militias do not have the power to make the decision to reach a political solution; they do not have the power to make the decision to sit down with the legitimate Yemeni government. The Iranian regime is the one benefitting from the continuation of those operations or the Yemeni crisis, which exacerbates the humanitarian situation inside Yemen,” al-Maliki added.
He highlighted the UN report which determined that cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of “Iranian origin,” and stressed that it was time the international community held the Iranian regime responsible and accountable for backing the Houthis and Tehran’s other malicious activities in the region.
The Arab Coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Iran-backed Houthis.
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