Yemeni government calls on Iran to prove its efforts to bring peace

The Yemeni minister pointed out that the world has become aware of the Iran’s role in the Houthi militia’s efforts to destabilize security and stability in Yemen, and standing against efforts for a peaceful solution to the crisis. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 29 April 2021
Follow

Yemeni government calls on Iran to prove its efforts to bring peace

  • Human rights activists also hold the Houthis and Iran responsible for thwarting Saudi Arabia's initiative to end the war

DUBAI: The Yemeni government called on Tehran to prove its credibility in supporting peace efforts for the country by withdrawing its military governor in Sana’a, Hassan Erlo, state news agency Saba reported.

The government also called on Tehran to halt the smuggling of weapons shipments – including ballistic missiles and drones – and the sending of experts in weapons development such as mines and improvised explosive devices, Muammar Al-Eryani, the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Yemeni official’s comments were in response to statements made by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during his meeting with the representative of the Houthi militia.

“Zarif’s statements are an attempt to cover up the role that Tehran played in managing the Houthi coup, the war in Yemen, and exacerbating the human suffering of Yemenis,” Al-Eryani said.

The Yemeni minister pointed out that the world has become aware of the Iran’s role in the Houthi militia’s efforts to destabilize security and stability in Yemen, and standing against efforts for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile, Yemeni and human rights activists have praised the initiative recently announced by Saudi Arabia to bring peace to Yemen, while holding the Iranian-backed Houthi militia responsible for thwarting that initiative.

This came in a seminar organized by the Arab Initiative for Education and Development under the title “Researching the opportunities and challenges of the peace process in Yemen in light of the Saudi initiative,” Saba reported.

Yemeni political activist Wissam Basindwa, who moderated the seminar, said, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted successive peace and truce processes during the previous years, but the Houthis do not abide by any truce and do not try to stop this war.”

She added that “during the five weeks in which Saudi Arabia launched the initiative, and the whole world welcomed it, it was rejected by the Houthis directly.”

Manal Al-Muslimi, the Belgian parliamentarian and European Parliament advisor for foreign affairs in the Middle East and North Africa, affirmed that the peace path that Saudi Arabia started shows that the Houthi militia was a tool to implement Iranian programs targeting the region and monitoring shipping lines.

“Iran is deporting the Iraqi experiment to Yemen, and this is what should be taken into consideration in the peace track in Yemen,” Jason Brodsky, a Middle East analyst and a fellow of the Wilson Center and United Against Nuclear Iran, also commented.

Brodsky claimed that the commander of the Quds Force, Hassan Erlo, has worked to escalate the military and operational violence of the Houthis since his arrival in Sana’a, and that the militia has stepped up its attack against Marib and Saudi Arabia, after they were removed from the US list of terrorist organizations.


Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

  • The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him
ROME: Pope Francis said on Thursday he planned to visit Turkiye’s Iznik next year for the anniversary of the first council of the Christian Church, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The early centuries of Christianity were marked by debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
“During the Holy Year, we will also have the opportunity to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the first great Ecumenical Council, that of Nicaea. I plan to go there,” the pontiff was quoted as saying at a theological committee event.
The city, now known as Iznik, is in western Anatolia, some 150km southeast of Istanbul.
The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip and the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, had said the two men would celebrate the important recurrence together but no official confirmation had been made yet.
Despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him because of health issues, Francis, who will turn 88 on Dec. 17, completed in September a 12-day tour across Asia, the longest of his 11-year papacy.

Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

Updated 44 min 37 sec ago
Follow

Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

  • Adani Group holds a 70 percent stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country
  • US last week accused Adani Group of being part of scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure contracts, misleading US investors 

HYDERABAD, India: Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue to invest in the country, Israel’s envoy to India said on Thursday, affirming the nation’s support for the ports-to-media conglomerate whose billionaire founder is facing bribery allegations in the United States.

“We wish Adani and all Indian companies continue to invest in Israel,” Ambassador Reuven Azar said in an interview with Reuters, adding that allegations by US authorities were “not something that’s problematic” from Israel’s point of view.

The Adani Group holds a 70% stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country, including to produce military drones and plans for the manufacture of commercial semiconductors.

US authorities last week accused Gautam Adani, his nephew, and Adani Green’s managing director of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading US investors during fund raising efforts there.

Adani Group has denied all the accusations, calling them “baseless.”

Still, shares and bonds of Adani companies were hammered last week and some partners began to review joint projects.

“I am sure Adani Group will resolve its problems,” Azar said on the sidelines of an event in the southern city of Hyderabad.


Lebanon to hold parliament session on Jan. 9 to elect president

Updated 51 min 13 sec ago
Follow

Lebanon to hold parliament session on Jan. 9 to elect president

  • State news agency: ‘Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9’

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament will hold a session in January to elect a new president, official media reported on Thursday, a day after an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire began and following more than two years of presidential vacuum.
“Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9,” the official National News Agency reported.


Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon violated

Updated 13 min 37 sec ago
Follow

Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon violated

  • Lebanese security sources and state media report tank fire struck Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba
  • Lebanon’s military deployed troops and tanks across the country’s south on Thursday

BEIRUT: Israel’s military announced on Thursday that it had detected the presence of suspects in several areas of southern Lebanon, calling it a violation of the ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Earlier on Thursday Israeli tank fire targeted three towns along Lebanon’s southeastern border with Israel, according to Lebanese security sources and state media. The strikes came a day after the ceasefire, which prohibits “offensive military operations,” had officially taken effect.

The tank fire hit Markaba, Wazzani, and Kfarchouba, all located within two kilometers of the Blue Line that marks the border between Lebanon and Israel. One security source reported that two people were wounded in Markaba.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

But managing the returns have been complicated. Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border, and on Thursday morning the Israeli military urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.

The three towns hit on Thursday morning lie within that strip.

There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.

Lebanon’s military deployed troops and tanks across the country’s south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day.

A Lebanese army source said its forces were “conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints” south of the Litani River without advancing into areas where Israeli forces were still present.

In the border village of Qlaaya, residents threw rice and flowers to celebrate the arrival of Lebanese soldiers.

“We only want the Lebanese army,” chanted the residents of the Christian-majority village, as they clapped and cheered for the troops and waved the Lebanese red, white and green flag.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Lebanese who fled their homes have headed back to their towns and villages, only to find scenes of devastation.

“Despite all the destruction and the sorrow, we are happy to be back,” said Umm Mohammed Bzeih, a widow who fled with her four children from the southern village of Zibqin two months ago.

“I feel as if our souls have returned,” she said, visibly exhausted as she swept up the shattered glass and pieces of stones that carpeted the floor.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said his group was cooperating on the army’s deployment in the south.

There is “full cooperation” with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army’s deployment, he said, adding the group had “no visible weapons or bases” but “nobody can make residents leave their villages.”

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.

Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.


Syria war monitor says more than 130 dead in army-militant clashes in north

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

Syria war monitor says more than 130 dead in army-militant clashes in north

  • Clashes followed “an operation launched by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
  • The air forces of both Syria and its ally Russia struck the attacking militants

BEIRUT: A monitor of Syria’s war said on Thursday that more than 130 combatants had been killed in clashes between the army and militant groups in the country’s north, as the government also reported fierce fighting.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll in the clashes which began a day earlier after the militants launched an attack “has risen to 132, including 65 fighters” from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, 18 from allied factions “and 49 members of the regime forces.”