Did Iran just threaten Saudi Arabia?
While it’s not likely that Iran will send troops, they are engaging in serious saber-rattling.
New developments in the past 24 hours make it more and more likely that Yemen will host a full-on proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday morning, Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced that Iran is ‘ready to aid Yemeni security.’ In the same breath, however, he also mentioned that Iran would not tolerate “interference” by other countries in Yemen’s internal affairs. This is in reference to Saudi Arabia’s recent incursions into Yemeni territory.
However, Iran has been reportedly supplying the Yemen rebels with weapons for years — making the possibility of any “aid” they could send rather interesting:
Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, made the offer on Wednesday, a day after Tehran warned Middle Eastern governments against interfering in the affairs of the the Arab Peninsula country. “Iran is prepared to co-operate with the government of Yemen and other nations in order to restore security [in Yemen],” Mottaki said at a news conference. Mottaki said that the fighting in north Yemen between government forces and the Houthis, who are from the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam, can be resolved by “collective efforts”. “It can restore security, peace and tranquility among the people of Yemen and the whole region [...] Any measure in contrast of such approach will serve the enemies of Islamic and Arab states. We believe that any approach other than this will not serve the interests of regional nations.”
The Christian Science Monitor (rightly, in this writer’s opinion) characterizes Iran’s “aid” offer as an ‘assurance’ to the Zaidi rebels.
Over the weekend, Saudi troops began incursions into Yemeni territory in reprisal for Zaidi rebel attacks on Saudi border towns.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased the pressure on Yemen. The Saudi navy began a blockade of the Zaidi-controlled Yemeni coast; most of the weapons Iran (reportedly) sends the Zaidis are shipped via sea.
Adding fuel to the fire, the Yemeni government vociferously rejected the Iranian ‘aid’ offer:
“In response to the remarks of (Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr) Mottaki, we affirm that Yemen categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs by any party whatsoever,” the official Saba news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
“Yemen also rejects any attempt by any party to represent itself as the protector of sons of the Yemeni people.”
But Yemen isn’t just spurning Iran in favor of Saudi Arabia. It’s also spurning Iran in favor of the United States. The Yemeni government just signed a military intelligence and training agreement with the USA:
The two countries signed the agreement in Sana’a today after two days of talks, the second round of such negotiations, Saba reported. The deal aims to strengthen cooperation in the “extermination of terrorism, smuggling and piracy,” Yemen’s Chief of Staff Ahmed Ali al-Ashwal told Saba. Fighting between the Yemeni government and Shi’ite Muslim rebels, who say they suffer political, religious and economic marginalisation, intensified last August when Sana’a launched a military offensive against them.
United States intelligence agencies have publicly stated their fear that a destabilized Yemen could turn into an al-Qaeda “homebase” in the past.
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Very interesting…Think this thing could blow up?
Scrathc that, I just read your earlier posts on Yemen. Seems this thing has been blowing up for awhile. HAve journos always been banned or is this a recent development?
Journalists have been banned on and off for years from Yemen; the country was host to a vicious civil war between the central government and Marxist insurgents as well.
However, this does not stop individual journalists from discreetly entering the country on visitor’s visas. These reporters often file anonymously for their publications for very obvious reasons.
Unfortunately, since Yemen is not Iraq, Afghanistan or Israel/Palestine, there is little demand from US or European publications for updates from Yemen. This will likely change in the future as the situation continues its inevitable decline into open warfare.
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