By Staff, Agencies

Yemen's Supreme Political Council member Mohammed Ali al-Houthi called on members of the Mecca Defense Alliance to withdraw from it, warning against luring Egyptian forces into a new war that would drain their capabilities and demanding that Saudi Arabia halt its aggression, lift its blockade, and end its occupation of Yemen.

Al-Houthi stated that remarks by the Saudi Foreign Ministry about its defense minister’s visit to Tehran to reduce tensions and its hope that the parties to the crisis would respond positively to the outcome of the visit and to mediation efforts contradict the continued escalation and blockade against Yemen since 2015.

He added that the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s claims about its pivotal role in maintaining regional security are at odds with its killings, blockade, targeting, and occupation in Yemen. He stressed that the steps required of Riyadh are to stop the aggression, lift the blockade, leave the country, and compensate the Republic of Yemen for what was destroyed during the years of aggression.

He noted that Saudi Arabia had previously tried alliances without success, accusing it of turning against parties that had allied with it.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan visited Tehran yesterday, preceded by a Saudi Foreign Ministry announcement that the visit was aimed at reducing escalation between the parties to the crisis and reaching an agreement that ends the crisis and secures security and peace in the region and the world.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Al-Houthi considered that the announcement by Egypt and its parliament of support for the "defense of Saudi Arabia" amounts to a declaration of war against the Republic of Yemen and serves the “Israeli” occupation. 

He further warned against drawing Egyptian forces in once again, as happened in the 1960s, into a war that drains their capabilities.

He added that such attrition serves the “Israeli” occupation’s plans to pounce on Sinai, usurp parts of Egypt, and forcibly displace Palestinians into it.

Yesterday, the Egyptian parliament granted the army a mandate to provide “support to help defend Saudi Arabia,” a step that could push Cairo directly into the heart of the regional war, whose scope has widened as Yemen has intensified its retaliatory strikes on Saudi Arabia in response to its aggression on the country.

Al-Houthi also stated that Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan should not support the continuation of aggression, blockade, and occupation against Yemen. He stressed that alliances should instead be directed at confronting the “Israeli” occupation, which is declaring war on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, and which is also preparing for war on Egypt.

Al-Houthi said, “We are not afraid of any alliance that takes shape.”

He affirmed that Yemen poses no threat to Bab al-Mandab but rather protects it, as it protects the Suez Canal and other parts of the Arab and Islamic world.

He added that Yemen’s policy and decisions are clear and have not changed since 2015, arguing that the intimidation involving unclear, undeclared threats is manufactured by American, British, and “Israeli” intelligence services in order to perpetuate infighting within the Arab and Islamic sphere.

Moreover, Al-Houthi described the Mecca Alliance as an attempt to portray Saudi Arabia as keen on peace, by moving to resolve "a crisis in Iran," stressing that what the Islamic Republic is facing is outright, unambiguous aggression.

He considered that the alliance serves American and “Israeli” policy and projects of regional domination, directed against the free people who stand against them. The Yemeni official added that the United States would have confronted it and directed that it be halted had it seen that it could affect its interests or the occupation's.

Furthermore, Al-Houthi predicted that disagreements among the alliance’s members would resurface, calling on them to withdraw from it and to direct their efforts toward establishing peace, defending the Palestinian people, and freeing the region from American and “Israeli” domination.

The SPC member also expressed hope that the meetings would play a role in making peace in the region, affirming, “We are not against peace, but we are against the continuation of the occupation of our country, the aggression against our country and our region, and committing crimes against our people.”

He stressed that Yemenis are not advocates of war but advocates of freedom, independence, and genuine peace that serves the interests of their homeland, their people, and their nation.