At a recent United Nations conference to support Yemen, Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition supported by the internationally recognized government of Yemen, led the way with a $ 430 million grant out of a total of $ 1.67 billion collected.
Iran, which supports the Houthi militias fighting the Yemeni government, according to a public list of UN donations, has offered no help.
Although the Biden government gave $ 191 million at the conference, adding to the hundreds of millions already donated in US humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, a recent policy change and intense diplomacy to obtain a ceasefire has so far failed .
The attacks on the Saudi-led coalition by the Houthis have only intensified in scale and ferocity.
The war started in 2014, when the Houthis surrounded the capital of Yemen in an attempt to dominate the country. In 2015, the Saudis led a coalition to fight militias. Since then, the humanitarian situation has worsened, leaving thousands of civilians dead and millions on the brink of starvation.
United Nations Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi
(Saudi Arabia Mission Credit to the United Nations)
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, told Fox News that “Saudi Arabia is among the main donors in providing regional and international humanitarian aid, especially in Yemen.”
The ambassador noted the irony when it comes to Tehran’s destructive role in supporting the Houthis.
“On the other hand, Iran is playing a destructive role in the region and is providing funds, weapons and other support to a wide range of terrorist and rebel groups, including the Houthi militia.
“In addition, Iran, through the Iran-backed Houthis militia, is sending missiles to Saudi cities, including the recent escalation of the Iran-supported Houthis militia, attacks on oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia, the drone attack on the Port Ras Tanura and attempted missile attack in a residential area of Aramco targeted the global energy supply. “
He warned that the attacks did not affect only his country. “Ras Tanura is one of the largest oil ports in the world and the Aramco complex in Dhahran is home to workers and their families from around the world.”
He noted that the attacks “against the Kingdom prove that these Iranian-backed militias only believe in terrorist behavior to achieve their narrow political goals. Houthis continue to ignore and violate Security Council resolutions and international humanitarian law”.
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The Biden government redefined its policy last month, announcing the end of support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen.
Shortly thereafter, Secretary of State Blinken undid an order from the Trump administration by revoking the status of Houthis Foreign Terrorist Organization, a decision he said was based on the dire humanitarian situation in the country and fear of the impact it could have on the basic commodities like food and fuel.
Al-Mouallimi told Fox News that he understood the reasons behind the cancellation of the list, but said: “Saudi Arabia will continue to treat Yemeni Houthis as a terrorist organization, despite the US decision.”
During the State Department briefing on Friday, spokesman Ned Price answered a question from the Associated Press about whether the deletion of the list had been a mistake. Price replied that “we are not going to apologize for doing everything we can do to deal with the significant humanitarian situation of the people of Yemen.”
Price said the Trump administration’s last-minute decision to add the Houthis to the list of terrorists has only exacerbated problems in the region.
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But Varsha Koduvayur, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News that the change in Biden’s policy “certainly helped to encourage the Houthis”.
“The wave of attacks increased as the government removed Houthis from the list,” said the Persian Gulf region expert.
“The big prize for the Houthis now is the military offensive in Marib – they have little incentive to change tactics, and the retrenchment of government pressure, while aimed at benefiting Yemen’s humanitarian situation, has certainly fueled the Houthis’ incentive structure. . ”
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Meanwhile, US special envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, proposed a ceasefire that was avoided by the Houthis, who said the plan represented only the views of the UN and Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.
Lenderking spent about two weeks of diplomacy in the region pushing for a ceasefire.
As the Houthi offensive continues, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior member of the FDD, warns that “Iran has unleashed a revolution in Houthi’s long-range attack capabilities” that allows militias to threaten Saudi oil assets and infrastructure .
Iran was able to avoid detection due to its “evolving proliferation model (which) involves sending components instead of complete systems”.
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Ben Taleblu said the Biden government should monitor these events closely.
“The increase in Houthis attacks sends a message: that the rebels are confident that more material is on the way and will not be banned. Washington should prove they are wrong,” he said.
Adam Shaw of Fox News contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.