Analysis of Houthi Strategy in Yemen

The Sultanate of Oman is witnessing crowded

air traffic.

We now turn to Sana'a and journalist Hussein al-Bukhaiti.

Hussein, greetings to you from London. I ask you about the calculations of the

Houthi Ansar Allah movement now after

this scene we saw at

King Khalid International Airport in the

Saudi capital, Riyadh.

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. They have no calculations.

They have clear goals: Saudi Arabia's withdrawal from Yemen,

meaning cutting Saudi Arabia's hand off Yemen, preventing its interference in Yemen and its support for any of

its affiliated militias, or those they call the legitimate government, meaning the legitimate government

in hotels, let them keep it there.

Yemen does not want them, and the attacks will continue and expand

to target other airports, except any airports in Mecca or

Medina, or those connected to serving travelers to Mecca or Medina.

This is what Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated clearly.

I think the next step is Dammam Airport if Saudi Arabia does not comply

with Yemeni demands and does not meet them.

It will taste a small part of what it made

Yemen taste during the, uh,

war and aggression. Since 2015, more than 300,000

airstrikes have been launched. All airports, ports, and most

hospitals and, the, the, the, I mean, all

oil facilities and bridges were destroyed. All bridges in

Yemen were targeted during that. And weddings and funerals too.

Before, uh, we should remember that in 2016, on eight

October, the Great Hall was targeted.

I only hear the Saudi guest, uh, crying crocodile tears

over civilian sites and saying this is a terrorist act.

I mean, what have you been doing since 2015? Just one targeting

of the Great Hall for a funeral in Sana'a on eight October

2016 resulted in the deaths and injuries of more than a thousand Yemeni civilians.

They struck it twice. The interval between the first and second strike

was, uh, approximately five minutes.

Other Saudi speakers. Ahmed, sorry, Hassan

Hussein, Saudi speakers. Hussein, I apologize.

They spoke about

the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's war against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia through the Houthi Ansar Allah movement.

The Houthi Ansar Allah movement has confirmed its close cooperation with

Iran. You simply cannot separate the situation.

By God, my dear brother, you can separate the situation. How do we separate the situation, then?

The Saudis were at the Saudi Embassy in Iran, celebrating with

the Iranians and cutting the cake for Saudi

National Day. They have relations and embassies

and so on. Then he comes up with excuses, he, he, he, only because he cannot

respond.

They are so cowardly now that they tell you the Revolutionary Guard is the one

targeting them from Yemen. Let’s say it is the Revolutionary Guard, and that there is no Yemeni army, no

Ansar Allah, nor any achievements, as they claim.

If it is the Revolutionary Guard, why doesn’t Saudi Arabia dare respond to Iran?

Iran targeted all the American bases and targeted American

interests throughout Saudi Arabia. Did Saudi Arabia respond? What is strange,

my dear brother, is that, I mean, if it is the power of Iranian weapons that comes to

Militias, as they claim, with such force that

Saudi Arabia, which he described as a neighbor,

cannot withstand what he called an terrorist movement and a war.

Then he rejoices that Trump has joined—

will join—the alliance with them. This proves to you, my dear brother, that they only

I mean, cannot respond.

Okay.

We

shall see.

It was only done there.

We shall see what the Saudi response will be. We shall see what the response

from Saudi Arabia will be. There will certainly be a response. This is what they are talking

about in Riyadh.

They respond, but they cannot stop the attacks.

You're certain. You're certain of that. Let's see. Let's see.

But with these attacks on

King Khalid International Airport and the way the

Houthi Ansar Allah movement deals with Arab countries that stand

with Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement

is now making enemies of the Gulf states. It

leaves no room for peace, friendship, or

future relations with these countries.

Do you see this point as burning all bridges with

the Arab Gulf states and the Arab world as a whole?

No, Sana'a needs no bridges with countries that took part in the aggression.

And the Saudi-led coalition,

including Qatar, although Qatar has, I mean, withdrawn from

that coalition, its media machine is one of the most important

fronts of the war on Yemen, and its media

channels. That is why that criticism

from Sayyid Abdul-Malik, who told them quite frankly, came: You must remember Saudi

Arabia's treachery. It nearly invaded Kuwait overnight,

and they imposed a blockade on Kuwait—no, pardon me, on

Qatar—for no reason whatsoever. So, my dear brother, any country

that provokes Yemen, any country now weeping over Riyadh Airport,

did not weep over everything destroyed in Yemen.

did not weep over everything destroyed in Yemen.

Today, for example, the Shu'ub area was targeted, and it is

one of the most densely populated areas in Sana'a.

This proves that Saudi Arabia also announced it had carried out 400 airstrikes

during the attempt to advance in Dhubab. It is involved.

Saudi Arabia announced the war in 2015 through its ambassador Adel

Al-Jubeir in Washington, and there was full support

from the White House during the Obama

administration.

Let me take advantage of

the guest.

Let me use the last minute.

Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it. I only hope you remind them of that, my dear brother.

Let me use the last minute of our discussion to ask you.

President Donald Trump had been asked to intervene

in this war, but he frankly said, “We will not

intervene.” Everyone knows there is close intelligence cooperation

between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.

This is public, not secret, but there is no direct

intervention now, or at least none announced by the Americans in this war.

President Trump said it clearly, “We are studying what

we will do,” and it is clear what that is. What I understand from

what you are saying, and what I am following,

is that the Houthis are now challenging President Trump.

Am I wrong?

My dear brother, we challenge any party that participates in the war against

Yemen. It will be targeted, and I am sure that

Soon, if Pakistan and Turkey play an active role

in shedding Yemeni blood, you will see their ships

all of them, commercial or otherwise, even what they call civilian vessels,

will be sunk and targeted.

You will open fronts against Turkey and Pakistan.

Hussein, drones are linked to Turkey and Pakistan.

You will open—The Houthis will open fronts against them.

No, brother. Yes, my dear brother. Who opens fronts? Is the one who opens

fronts the one who responds and defends himself, or the one who opens the front and

comes and attacks him? Would Yemen have closed the Red Sea

to Turkey or Pakistan, for example, if it had happened

that they intervened directly? No, but if they intervene,

certainly. I mean, do you mean that if more countries

allied with Saudi Arabia and countries that come under the guise

of protecting Mecca increase, with all these lies, and it is an Epstein alliance and a Zionist alliance

and a new name for an alliance, the Prosperity Alliance, meaning, the more

their alliances and participating countries increase, you want Yemen to

That means you retreat on the pretext that we open fronts, while they are the ones opening them.

They open fronts, yet they are the ones whining and unable to maintain

those fronts. For example, dear brother, now in the Taiz area

only Mount Sabir and a small part of the city remain, which they

only Mount Sabir and a small part of the city remain, which they

had controlled before 2022, and the guest is speaking from

Saudi Arabia because of the defeats we are suffering in

Yemen at the hands of the legitimate government, we are trying to drag Riyadh in.

Is it possible that you are suffering defeats

and being defeated by the so-called legitimate government?

Let us be realistic here, Hussein. Hussein, this is just falsification.

The Houthis admitted that they

withdrew, as was said, tactically from some areas of Bab al-Mandab.

This means that the government forces

with the help of the Arab Coalition and Saudi Arabia were able to

retake parts of these areas. This is clear and cannot be denied.

These areas were in the hands of—

Who admitted it, brother? No, no, please, brother, no, no, we will not allow you to do that.

So you cite reports saying they admitted it. Who admitted it? Translate the reports.

Translate the report and say it is obvious? That means we are deceiving the viewer.

When you receive images, when you receive live images from

the area the government says it retook, how

can these images be fabricated?

Yes, now you are saying Ansar Allah admitted it. That is the fallacy here.

Then you say images arrive. They are images, brother, 25 kilometers

from Bab al-Mandab, and it is the same area they were in before

after a large part of the coast was liberated. So I hope there will not be any fallacies.

You say the Houthis admit it, then Ansar Allah says, "Where do the images come from?"

The legitimate government. Do you know, dear brother, the hotel government is afflicted

with

what is called Riyadh syndrome. To them, everything is

statements and lies. They've become detached from reality and don't know what war means,

what patience means, what fighting means, what selflessness means, what patience means.

That is why, whenever possible, we host journalists

and analysts from Sana'a to shed light on the situation.

Thank you for your remarks. Journalist Hussein al-Bukhaiti

Thank you for your remarks.

I now turn to Oxford, Chair of the Middle East Policy Council, Ambassador

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley is with us now, Ms. Gina.