Can Riyadh, Tehran find common ground in Yemen?
If Saudi Arabia and Iran were interested, the confrontation in Yemen could give way to a grand regional bargain.
Nothing significantly changed in Yemen since the Saudi-led campaign to restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power. Ansar Allah (the Houthis) and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh continue their advance despite aerial and naval bombardment that in the past five days killed at least 93 civilians and wounded 364 in five Yemeni cities engulfed in the violence, including Sanaa, according to the UN human rights office in Geneva.
“Ansar Allah isn't affected at the moment by all the strikes,” said Khalid al-Madani, a Houthi official and a member of the revolutionary committee that is ruling areas under his group’s control. “They are hitting civilians and the army; they know all the army bases because the Americans have the maps. As for Ansar Allah, we are a resistance group, everything is secret, nobody from outside the group knows our posts, we are making use of various experiences, and we have our experience during the past wars [in which] we defended against the former regime in Yemen and the Saudi kingdom.”
During the last couple of days the Houthis were able to capture new areas, including the Dabab port in Taiz that overlooks the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait on the Red Sea, while they continue efforts to impose full control over the southern Yemeni city of Aden, which used to be Hadi’s base. While the second objective could be regarded as a huge blow to the Saudi coalition, the first is expected to raise concerns in Egypt that defends its decision to participate in the war by citing its strategic interests to keep the Suez Canal open.
“They tried to stop us from reaching Aden airport. They failed,” Madani told Al-Monitor over the phone from Sanaa. “I can ensure you there isn’t any significant resistance from Hadi’s forces. Nothing is going to stop us, and the Saudis have to understand that if they want to uproot Ansar Allah then they have to uproot all the Yemenis from their land ... We are arranging and coordinating with the tribes, people believe in us; this is the first answer to the Saudi aggression that’s bound to fail. Whatever they did, the real response is in waiting the orders of Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. He’s the one who has the decision."
