Hours after overtures to reach a de-escalation agreement between the legitimate Yemeni government and the Houthi militia, in light of the coronavirus and international and UN pressures, the group's leader delivered a new aggressive speech that blew up all hopes for calm to prevail, promising another year of war.
As usual, he turned the table and portrayed Houthis as oppressed victims in a speech broadcasted by Al-Masirah channel. He ignored the scale of damage caused by his coup against the legitimate government and the unprecedented deterioration of the humanitarian situation they caused for millions of Yemenis.
The pro-Iran Houthi leader stressed commitment to the coup for another year, claiming that his group can produce all kinds of weapons and that the sixth year would unfold “surprises that were not considered possible" by the Alliance Supporting Legitimacy, in addition to advanced military capabilities and great victories.
Ending the war- according to his speech- requires halting support to the legitimacy, lifting restrictions imposed on arms smuggling and bringing pro-coup political opponents back to power by returning the "Reconciliation Committee."
While the Houthi leader claimed that his group is ready to "go through with the prisoner exchange process," he once again exploited this issue to gain the sympathies of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and take advantage of the Palestinian cause. He offered to release a Saudi pilot and four officers in exchange for the Kingdom's release of Palestinians accused of "terrorism".
He did not forget to praise the Iranian regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah as he always does, claiming that Tehran “stands by oppressed nations”, thereby implicitly admitting that the Revolutionary Guard supplies them with smuggled arms and military expertise.
The Houthi leader also mirrored Iranian leaders’ skepticism of humanitarian organizations, claiming that their contributions are limited and that the Yemenis could solve their crises by collecting more money from the contributions of Yemenis in the name of “Zakat”.
Recent Western reports revealed the degree of the Iranian military’s involvement in Yemen, which is led by the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Abdul Ridha Shahlai and includes around 400 members of the Revolutionary Guards.
The United States announced, on December 5, a $15 million reward to anyone who would provide information on the locations of Shahlai's activities in Yemen.
