ADEN: Yemen’s internationally recognized government on Monday demanded that Iran stop arming Houthi militias, withdraw its military experts and cease interfering in the country’s internal affairs, accusing Tehran of prolonging the war and providing political and diplomatic cover for the group.
In a statement posted on X early Monday, Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs strongly condemned an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement accusing Saudi Arabia of violating Yemen’s sovereignty and condemning airstrikes on civilian targets in the country.
The Aden-based ministry described Tehran’s statement as an attempt to provide “political and media cover for the terrorist Houthi militias” and evade responsibility for prolonging the conflict and deepening the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis.
It said Iranian intervention had evolved beyond financing, arming and training the Houthis to direct involvement in planning and managing their military operations.
“The Ministry regards this pairing of military support on the ground with diplomatic cover in international forums as further evidence of the true nature of the Iranian role in undermining the Yemeni state and threatening the security of the region and its waterways,” the statement said.
Iranian military experts
The ministry cited an announcement by Yemen’s Interior Ministry that 21 foreign experts were working with the Houthis, including 14 from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and seven from Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
According to the statement, their responsibilities include command and control, operational management, ballistic missiles, drones, electronic warfare, military-component smuggling and coordination of maritime operations, including selecting commercial vessels for attacks.
The ministry described their presence as constituting “a fully-fledged general staff” whose role went beyond training to the supervision, planning and direction of military operations.
“Yemenis pay the price with their lives, their security and their livelihoods,” it said.
The Yemeni government accused Tehran of enabling the Houthis to continue abducting, killing and terrorizing civilians, shelling cities and civilian facilities, and besieging and starving populations.
It also accused the group of repeatedly attacking Saudi territory, commercial shipping and maritime navigation in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Dispute over civilian casualties
The diplomatic exchange followed an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement condemning airstrikes on the Al-Hadara public market in Al-Wazi’iyah district of Taiz province on Nov. 6, as well as attacks on Al-Shariyah village in Bani Hashish district east of Sanaa.
Iran said the market strikes killed 33 people, including 13 children, and wounded dozens, while the attack on Al-Shariyah killed another 33 people, including women and children. Tehran also condemned the targeting of members of Yemen’s Al-Masirah television network.
It described the attacks as violations of international humanitarian law and the UN Charter, and called for an immediate halt to military operations and an end to what it termed the economic and aerial blockade of Yemen.
Tehran also called for an end to what it described as the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen through dialogue based on a previously agreed roadmap.
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry rejected what it called Iran’s exploitation of the victims of the Al-Hadara market incident to promote accusations contradicting statements by the competent Yemeni authorities.
It said those authorities had called for independent investigations into alleged Houthi violations of human rights and international law.
Arms embargo and Saudi assistance
The Yemeni ministry recalled UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and Resolution 2624, which expanded the arms embargo to include the Houthis as an entity, saying the restrictions cover weapons, equipment, technical assistance, training and financing related to military activities.
It urged Tehran to respect the sovereignty of regional states, abandon its support for armed groups and devote its national resources to improving the living conditions of its own population rather than financing weapons and smuggling networks.
The statement also contrasted Iran’s alleged military assistance to the Houthis with Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian and development support for Yemen and assistance to Yemeni expatriates in the Kingdom.
“Throughout twelve years of a war ignited by the Houthi militia with its backing, the Iranian regime has offered the Yemeni people nothing but missiles, suicide drones, explosive-laden boats and experts of destruction,” the ministry said.
It added that Saudi Arabia had provided “invaluable relief, humanitarian and development assistance,” as well as facilities for Yemeni expatriates whose work and remittances help sustain millions of people.
The ministry concluded that respect for Yemen’s sovereignty required Iran to stop arming the Houthis, withdraw its military experts and end interference in the country’s national decision-making.
It said Tehran’s professed concern for Yemenis should be reflected in ending the support that it said was prolonging their suffering and deepening the country’s destruction.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government from the capital. The war has triggered one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.