Former Iran ambassador: Saudis must accept Houthis

A coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia launched on March 26 Operation Decisive Storm, a military campaign in Yemen against Ansar Allah, a Zaydi (Shiite) Muslim rebel group commonly referred to as the Houthis. The coalition's goal was to restore to power former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who had resigned on Jan. 22, just days after he and the Houthi had reached a power-sharing deal following their seizure of the presidential palace. Hadi is currently in exile in Saudi Arabia, while the Houthis, backed by forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, continue to fight various forces in Yemen, some of them aligned with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have accused Iran, its regional rival, of backing the Houthis.

In a phone interview, Seyed Ali Asghar Ghoreishi, former Iranian ambassador to Yemen, told Al-Monitor that Iran’s support of the Houthis has not been military. He believes that accepting the reality of Ansar Allah’s emergence and acknowledging the “suppressed demands of the Zaydis” is crucial to any hope of resolving the Yemeni crisis. A UN-sponsored meeting is scheduled for June 14 to discuss an end to the fighting, which has led to a humanitarian crisis.

Ghoreishi, who headed Iran’s mission in Yemen from 1999 to 2003 and later became the director of documents and archives of the Foreign Ministry before retiring, emphasized not referring to Ansar Allah as the Houthis, stating, “Houthi is a city between Saada and Sanaa, and the family of Sheikh Badreddin al-Houthi, father of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, are located there. Houthi is just the family name of Badreddin, so we shouldn’t attribute this current to just one person.”

Al-Monitor:  US officials and Saudi officials accuse the Houthis of receiving Iranian support. Are the Houthis receiving Iranian support? If so, how?