GCC to ‘aid’ Yemen reconstruction

Arab Gulf states are to provide aid for a “massive project” of reconstruction in Yemen, the country’s foreign minister said on Monday, as Saudi Arabia continued to lead a military campaign against Houthi militias.

Speaking to reporters in Kuwait, Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin said Operation Decisive Storm, a military operation launched on March 26 to fight the Houthi advance in Yemen, favored his country’s people, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

Separately, Yassin compared the situation in Yemen to that of Kuwait in 1990 referring to the first Gulf War in which a U.S.-led coalition fought off Iraqi forces that had occupied the Gulf state.

On Iran’s involvement in the conflict, Yassin said the Islamic Republic could not act as a mediator, as they lack “neutrality,” adding that Tehran-sponsored talks would aim to help its “allies.”

Saudi Arabia and the United States have said that Iran is backing Houthi militias in Yemen. The Shiite militias took over the capital Sanaa earlier this year, forcing President Abdrabbi Mansour Hadi into house arrest before he fled to the southern city of Aden.

Hadi called for intervention to combat the Houthi advance in Yemen, prompting Saudi Arabia to launch a 10-state coalition against the militants.