Dubai: UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter his country was not intimidated by Al Houthi threats.
“Al Houthis’ comments threatening the UAE and its capital are tangible proof of the need for the Decisive Storm (operation),” Gargash said, referring to the Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore the legitimate government in Yemen.
“Iran’s militias have vile objectives and represent a real threat,” he added.
Challenges
“We are not afraid of the Houthi threats and stupidity; it reveals the desperation of those who defend fragmented illusions, and it certainly reveals the intentions for the Arabian Gulf region security and stability,” Gargash wrote.
The UAE minister also said that the challenges we are facing requires more solidarity among Arab countries. He said that the Arab coalition is an example of this solidarity.
Gargash’s tweets came hours after open threats made by Al Houthi militia leader, Abdul Malek Al Houthi.
تهديدات الحوثي وحماقته لا تخيفنا وتكشف عن يأس لمن يدافع عن أوهام تشظت، ولكنها تكشف يقينا عن النوايا المبيتة لأمن وإستقرار الخليج العربي.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) September 14, 2017
Al Houthi leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi said on Thursday his group could target Saudi oil tankers should Saudi Arabia attack Yemen’s main port at Hodeidah.
He also claimed rebel missiles could reach other areas in the Gulf.
Military option
Earlier this week, Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, said that only a military option would put an end to the Al Houthi coup as peace efforts by the UN envoy to Yemen have largely reached a deadlock.
Speaking to London-based Al Quds Al Arabi daily, Hadi noted that his government was in agreement with the Saudi-led coalition and the Americans that military pressure alone would bring the Iran-backed Al Houthi militia back to the table and would force them into disarming.
“The American administration seeks to strike Iranian interests in Yemen by supporting a military solution, because the Americans believe that the end of the Iranian project in Yemen would mark the beginning of the end of the Iranian imperial ambition,” Hadi said.
Hadi came to power in 2012 months after massive Arab Spring protests ousted his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh and is recognised internationally as the legitimate ruler of Yemen.
Decamping to Aden
In early 2015, north Yemen rebels, backed by Iran and Saleh, placed Hadi under a house arrest, forcing him into decamping to Aden where he sought military intervention from Saudi Arabia.
Despite Hadi’s stress on the importance of military pressure on Al Houthis, his forces have stalled at the rugged mountains of Nehim, just outside Sana’a, despite receiving massive air support and logistics from the Saudi-led coalition.
Hadi blamed Saleh for Al Houthi empowerment and said that Al Houthis now had the advantage over Saleh’s forces militarily.
Any political solution to the Yemen crisis would have to result in the disarmament of Al Houthis, he added.
