Houthi Attacks on Saudi Airports

Member of the Political Bureau of Ansar Allah the Houthis.

Welcome to France 24 this evening.

Mr. al-Bukhaiti, did the Houthis target Riyadh

International Airport again today? And what is

the group's purpose in striking civilian facilities

and intensifying strikes on airports in Saudi Arabia?

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Greetings to you all.

Yemeni strikes deep inside Saudi Arabia, which

target its oil facilities or airports,

come in the context of responding in kind. An airport

for an airport, a port for a port, and a siege for a siege.

Therefore, Yemeni military operations will continue deep inside

Saudi territory until it is forced to submit to

a just and honorable peace that guarantees the dignity and safety of all

countries in the region. Those who insist on the option of

war are the Saudi leadership. As for Yemen,

our position is clear: We support ending the war and ending

the blockade by both sides.

But the timing, coinciding with the halt in the war between

Washington and Tehran, makes the group's position

serves Saudi Arabia's interests. Now there is a great

outpouring of solidarity that supported and expressed solidarity with

the Kingdom and condemned what the

group is doing. This does not serve the Houthis.

On the contrary, the continued Yemeni military operations deep inside

Saudi territory, despite

reaching a ceasefire or truce between America

and Iran, confirms Yemen's narrative,

confirms the validity of Yemen's narrative that our military operations

target the Saudi enemy in order to end the aggression

and end the Saudi blockade and stop the plundering

of Yemen's resources by the Saudi enemy, which caused

great suffering for Yemen. This suffering will only end by confronting it.

Mr. al-Bukhaiti, you consider the United States an enemy, and you consider Israel

an enemy. Why are you now focusing your strikes

on Saudi Arabia? Because it supports an internationally recognized

government in Yemen?

Because Saudi Arabia is the aggressor.

It is the one that declared aggression against Yemen in

2015 without justification, and it also violated

the ceasefire agreement by targeting Sana'a Airport in

2026,

and it still insists on the option of war

and rejects the option of peace. Therefore, it is natural that

our military operations are directed at the Saudi enemy,

and if America or other countries become involved in the aggression

against Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia, or attempt to lift

the blockade imposed on the Saudi enemy, they

will become a legitimate target for Yemen.

So how will you deal with the repercussions

of these attacks you are carrying out against the Kingdom internationally?

The Saudi leadership should have benefited

from past experiences. First, it failed to achieve

its goals in Yemen. Moreover,

ending the war has become a shared interest between Yemen

and Saudi Arabia. In addition, Yemen previously

imposed a naval blockade on the Zionist entity,

and America intervened with a broad international coalition composed of

40 countries, including America, Britain, and the Zionist

entity, but they all failed to lift

the blockade of the Zionist entity, which forced

America, in the end, to dismantle this coalition

international coalition in its aggression against Yemen and reach an agreement between

Yemen and the U.S. government. The Saudi

leadership should have learned from those

experiences and not risk destroying its oil

facilities, airports, and ports. Add to

that, Yemen's operations come in response to that

aggression. Also, regarding the international

condemnations, whether from the United Nations or from some countries,

we consider those condemnations an expression of their

moral failure because they have not condemned any

Saudi act of aggression against Yemen since the beginning of the aggression against Yemen

until now, even though the Saudi air force has

targeted mourning halls, wedding halls, hospitals

and schools, and continues to target them to this day.

Therefore, we tell the Saudi leadership, those condemnations

will not benefit you.

And we tell them:

Mr. al-Bukhaiti, do you think this military pressure

Will the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia be forced to stop the war

and negotiate with the Houthis? Is there communication between the group

and the United States in the context of, um…

I mean, um…

Is this—what is happening now connected in context

connected?

Certainly, this is the only option

that will force the Saudi leadership

to accept a just and honorable peace that guarantees the dignity

and safety of all the countries in the region, because the

Saudi leadership understands only the language of force. We have

tried negotiations for 12 years

and attempted to convince Saudi Arabia

to get out of, um, this predicament it got

itself into, um, without having to destroy

its infrastructure, but it did not respond. Rather, it

targeted Sana'a Airport and sought to

tighten the blockade on Yemen. So, unfortunately,

the Saudi leadership understands only the language of force

and we deal with it in the language it understands.

Is there communication between the Houthis and Washington and the

U.S. administration now?

There is no direct communication with Yemen

And the United States, whether now or in the past.

But there have been indirect contacts

through the Omani mediator.

Our position is clear: our military operations target

the Saudi enemy. During those contacts, we warned America

that its involvement in the aggression against

Yemen means a direct military

response from Yemen targeting America's interests wherever

our hands can reach them.

Mr. Al-Bukhaiti, objectively, what is the Houthi strategy

now for managing the ongoing confrontations on

the ground and maintaining control of the strategic Bab al-Mandab area

on the one hand, while continuing strikes deep inside

Saudi territory now?

Uh, our strat— strategy is to achieve comprehensive

and lasting peace.

By killing civilians?

Protecting the dignity and safety of all countries in the region.

Yes, that is our strategy. Our strategy is a strategy of

peace, including with regard to maritime navigation.

Yemen is fighting and struggling to protect freedom

of maritime navigation for everyone, whether in the Bab al-Mandab Strait

or the Red Sea. But Saudi Arabia is the one

attacking Yemen, which requires a response. Saudi Arabia is also the one

that, uh, violates freedom of, uh, maritime

navigation by obstructing freedom of maritime

navigation to and from Yemen. Therefore, when we

wage this war, it is to achieve peace,

and also, uh, to achieve freedom, freedom of

maritime navigation for everyone, because freedom of

maritime navigation is a sacred right for all

nations and all peoples. The question now

is why Saudi Arabia insists on

continuing the war and the blockade, even though

ending the war and the blockade by both sides has, uh, become

a common interest? As for Saudi Arabia's strategy, it

wants the war and blockade to continue unilaterally,

depriving Yemen of the right to self-defense

and of imposing a blockade in response to its blockade, which is unacceptable.

Thank you.

Even if it were capable. If Saudi Arabia were capable of imposing these

unjust options, we could say it was understandable, but now they are not

They can, so continuing the war is no longer in their best interest.