Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of the South Transitional Council (STC), told Al-Monitor that the council stands with the Saudi-led Arab coalition against what he called the “rebels” in North Yemen, referring to the alliance between Ansar Allah (Houthis) and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who leads the General People's Congress.

He said that he has forces fighting in areas in North Yemen alongside the coalition to defeat what he called the “Iranian project.” Zubaidi noted that the establishment of the council has nothing to do with his dismissal from his position as governor of Aden, saying that the idea of establishing the council came up a year ago. He asserted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has no goals and plans in South Yemen and that there is no disagreement between Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarding the war in Yemen. He also said that he was the first to uncover Qatar’s involvement in supporting terrorist groups in Aden and a number of areas in South Yemen.

Al-Monitor interviewed Zubaidi via email, on July 31, almost a month after his return from a tour that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. He visited Riyadh on May 11, where he met Saudi officers and briefed them on the progress of counterterrorism efforts and the achievements of the Aden security forces. Then, on May 19, Zubaidi traveled to Abu Dhabi, where he met with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and senior UAE officials. On May 24, he headed to Cairo, where he met former Yemeni President Ali Nasser Mohammed and stayed there until returning to Yemen on July 3.

The text of the interview follows.