The recent events in Yemen show that Riyadh is trying to find a way out of the quagmire of this war; it is on the path of divergence with its main allies.
According to Pak Sahafat news agency, in the wake of recent developments on various Yemeni fronts and Ansarallah’s continued victories, the country has become a crossroads of strategic interests and perspectives between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Nearly seven years after the start of the Yemeni war, Washington and Riyadh have faced many challenges in achieving their stated goals of defeating Ansarullah and consolidating the government of fugitive Yemeni President Abd al-Mansour Hadi in the country.
As mentioned, almost 7 years have passed since this devastating war, but neither of these two goals has been achieved by Saudi Arabia and the United States; Rather, the war created a new political-military-economic reality in the region, which resulted in growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and its allies in the war, including the United States, and forced Riyadh to back down from its ambitions.
However, at a time when the Yemeni war has now shifted to the Ma’rib front and Ansarallah forces are not far from conquering this strategic region, the Saudis are still counting on the United States and hoping that it can change the scene of the war and save Saudi Arabia; Former US Undersecretary of State for Middle East Affairs David Shanker stressed in an article earlier this month that it was not a question of US President Joe Biden’s administration preventing a complete Houthi victory. It is working through Washington’s arms support to Saudi Arabia and the direct involvement of the US military in the war in Yemen.
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar cited documents that show US efforts to convince Saudi Arabia of the need to end the Yemeni war and not to bet Riyadh that a third party would step in to oust Ansarallah.
Read more: The Saudi government’s taste for calling Yemeni Ansarullah a terrorist: https://www.paksahafat.com/en/?p=1494
At a June 14, 2021 meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Joey Hood and some Gulf diplomats in Washington, D.C. It does not work, and even after their names are removed from the US list of terrorists, they do not change their position.
He added: Therefore, we believe that the cessation of operations by Saudi Arabia and its withdrawal from Yemen will help end the war, and although it is difficult to accept this proposal, we think it is the right thing to do.
Another document leaked by the US State Department on February 21, 2021, states that the US envoy to Yemen, Tim Landerking, during his recent visit to Riyadh, discussed with Saudi officials a way out of the Yemeni war, as well as the Saudis. Ansarullah’s advances on the Ma’rib front were said to be blocking the way to a peaceful agreement to end the war.
According to the report, the Saudis announced at the meeting that Saudi Arabia’s sudden withdrawal from the Yemeni war would likely cost the Saudis dearly, and that other countries, such as Qatar, Turkey and the UAE, would enter the fray to seize the opportunity, and a long conflict could ensue.
According to the document, the Biden administration is outraged by the increase in Ansarallah operations after the movement was removed from the US terrorism list, and Washington is likely to impose new sanctions on Ansarallah military figures, of course, these sanctions do not include the political leaders of this movement, because they will have a negative impact on the negotiation process to end the war. Despite the contradictions in the statements of the American officials, all these statements indicate that Saudi Arabia is trying to find a way out of the Yemeni swamp.
In this regard, after his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Linderking announced that According to him, Saudi Arabia seeks to end the war in Yemen, and Ansar al-Islam may be ready to end the war on the terms he wants, including the reopening of Sanaa airport, the reopening of Bandar al-Hudaidah, and the distribution of financial spoils between the resigned government and the Sanaa government in northern Yemen.
“On February 26, 2021,” Kenneth Ifanes, director of the Persian Gulf Affairs Division at the White House National Security Council, met with some diplomats from the Gulf states and said: The Houthis believe that they can win on the Ma’rib front and therefore will not give any points to the other side at this stage.
He emphasized the need to focus on Saudi Arabia and the United States in Yemen, and said that the US-led mission was ready to support the efforts of former UN envoy Martin Griffiths to Yemen to end the war through political dialogue.
Al-Akhbar newspaper referred to documents related to the meeting of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with officials of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf on September 15, 2019. The meeting was aimed at examining tensions between Saudi and Emirati mercenaries in Yemen. According to the leaked documents, Mohammed bin Salman called on Saudi ambassadors to various countries to condemn the UAE’s position in the war in Yemen and blame Abu Dhabi for what is happening in the south of the country.
In October 2021, Saudi Arabia, with US support, rescinded a draft resolution sent by the Netherlands to the Security Council extending the mandate of a UN team of experts to investigate Yemen’s war crimes. Although Mohammed bin Salman’s talks on the division of power in southern Yemen led to the signing of the Riyadh Agreement in November 2019, the agreement has remained on paper ever since, and tensions between Saudi and UAE mercenaries have not diminished but are on the verge of military war.
In response, Saudi officials have suspended military aid and air support to Mansour Hadi’s forces, particularly in Taiz, since March of this year. Accordingly, the officials of the resigned government are angry about the absence of Mansour Hadi in the current contacts between this government and Saudi Arabia in order to stop the war.
Informed sources stressed that Ansarullah forces are leading the war on different fronts in a separate but coordinated manner and are fully prepared. Ansarullah had also previously advised Hans Grandberg that he should think about the post-liberation phase.