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Saudi Arabia says no involvement with strikes targeting Hodeidah

Saudi Ministry of Defense denied any involvement with Israeli strikes on Yemen. (X: @modgovksa)
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Updated 21 July 2024
Arab News
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Saudi Arabia says no involvement with strikes targeting Hodeidah

  • Ministry of Defense spokesman says the Kingdom will not allow any entity to use its airspace for offensive action
  • The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its deep concern over the escalating military situation in Yemen
Updated 21 July 2024
Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it had nothing to do with the Israeli air strikes on Yemen’s city of Hodeidah and that it will not allow anyone to use the Kingdom’s airspace for offensive purposes.

“The Kingdom has no relation or involvement in the targeting of Hodeidah, and the Kingdom will not allow any entity to violate its airspace,” Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Defense, said in a statement on the X social media app.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed on Sunday its deep concern over the escalating military situation in Yemen.

In a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry commented on the recent Israeli attack, stating that it “exacerbates the current tension in the region and undermines ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza.”

 

 

The ministry urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to keep the region and its peoples safe from the dangers of war. It called upon the international community and influential parties to fulfill their roles and responsibilities in ending conflicts in the region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to ending the war in Gaza and its ongoing support for peace efforts in Yemen, aiming to alleviate the suffering of its people and achieve security and peace in the region.

Israeli warplanes struck the Houthi-held western Yemeni city on Saturday in an apparent reprisal for the Houthi drone strike on a Tel Aviv apartment building before dawn Friday, killing one civilian.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the airstrike was meant to send a message to the Houthis that their attacks would not be left unanswered.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia, which controls a large part of Yemen, had been attacking commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea and the Bab-Al-Mandab straight in a sympathy action for the Palestinians in Gaza amid Israeli attacks.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that the Israeli strikes hit a power plant and a gasoline storage facility, killing three and wounding 87 people.

Unfazed by the swift Israeli response, Houthi officials threatened to continue attacking ships doing commerce with Israel and on Israel itself.

“We emphasize that this brutal aggression will only strengthen the determination and steadfastness of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces in their support for Gaza,” Mohammed Abdul Sallam, the Houthi chief negotiator based in Muscat, posted on X.

Houthi Shura Council member Abdul Sallam Jahaf said: “We will respond more violently and harshly to this Zionist-American orgy.” 

 

Topics: War on Gaza Houthi militia Hodeidah Yemen Israel

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Palestinians in Jenin observe a general strike

Updated 3 sec ago
AP
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Palestinians in Jenin observe a general strike

  • The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank
Updated 3 sec ago
AP
JENIN: Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.

Qatari minister arrives in Damascus on first Qatar Airways flight since Assad’s fall

Updated 39 min 43 sec ago
Reuters
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Qatari minister arrives in Damascus on first Qatar Airways flight since Assad’s fall

Updated 39 min 43 sec ago
Reuters

DUBAI: Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs arrived in Damascus on Monday on the first Qatar Airways flight to the Syrian capital since the fall of President Bashar Assad two weeks ago, Doha’s foreign ministry said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Mohammed Al-Khulaifi was the most senior official of the Gulf Arab state to visit Syria since militants toppled the Assad family’s 54-year-long rule.

Topics: Fall of Assad Qatar Syria Ahmed Al-Sharaa

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Iran foreign ministry affirms support for Syria’s sovereignty

Updated 23 December 2024
AFP
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Iran foreign ministry affirms support for Syria’s sovereignty

  • Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus
Updated 23 December 2024
AFP

TEHRAN: Iran affirmed its support for Syria’s sovereignty on Monday, and said the country should not become “a haven for terrorism” after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future without destructive foreign interference,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.
He added that the country should not “become a haven for terrorism,” saying such an outcome would have “repercussions” for countries in the region.
Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus after a lightning offensive.
The takeover by HTS — proscribed as a terrorist organization by many governments including the United States — has sparked concern, though the group has in recent years sought to moderate its image.
Headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader and an ardent opponent of Iran, the group has spoken out against the Islamic republic’s influence in Syria under Assad.
Tehran helped prop up Assad during Syria’s long civil war, providing him with military advisers.
During Monday’s press briefing, Baqaei said Iran had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers.
Sharaa has received a host of foreign delegations since coming to power.
He met on Sunday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, and on Monday with Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi.
On Friday, the United States’ top diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf held a meeting with Sharaa, later saying she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran in its affairs.
A handful of European delegations have also visited in recent days.
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which has long supported Syria’s opposition, is expected to send a delegation soon, according to Syria’s ambassador in Riyadh.

Topics: Iran Syria

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Iran says ‘no direct contact’ with Syria rulers

Updated 23 December 2024
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Iran says ‘no direct contact’ with Syria rulers

  • Foreign ministry spokesman: ‘We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria’
Updated 23 December 2024
AFP

TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Iran Ahmed Al-Sharaa

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Jordan FM holds talks with Syria’s new leader, calls for inclusive government

Updated 16 min 30 sec ago
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Jordan FM holds talks with Syria’s new leader, calls for inclusive government

  • It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Bashar Assad’s fall
  • Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts
Updated 16 min 30 sec ago
AFP

AMMAN: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urged the formation of a Syrian government that represents all factions, during his meeting with Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday,

He emphasized the need for a comprehensive political process to resolve the ongoing crisis and called on the United Nations to step in and assist Syria. The minister also reaffirmed Jordan's readiness to support efforts aimed at rebuilding the war-torn country.

Meanwhile, Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts.

It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Assad’s fall.

Jordan, which borders Syria to the south, hosted a summit earlier this month where top Arab, Turkish, EU and US diplomats called for an inclusive and peaceful transition after years of civil war.

Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed senior officials from a host of countries in the Middle East and beyond in recent days.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohamed Momani told reporters on Sunday that Amman “sides with the will of the brotherly Syrian people,” stressing the close ties between the two nations.

Momani said the kingdom would like to see security and stability restored in Syria, and supported “the unity of its territories.”

Stability in war-torn Syria was in Jordan’s interests, Momani said, and would “ensure security on its borders.”

Some Syrians who had fled the war since 2011 and sought refuge in Jordan have begun returning home, according to Jordanian authorities.

The interior ministry said Thursday that more than 7,000 Syrians had left, out of some 1.3 million refugees Amman says it has hosted.

According to the United Nations, 680,000 Syrian refugees were registered with it in Jordan.

Jordan in recent years has tightened border controls in a crackdown on drug and weapon smuggling along its 375-kilometer border with Syria.

One of the main drugs smuggled is the amphetamine-like stimulant captagon, for which there is huge demand in the oil-rich Gulf.

Topics: Fall of Assad Jordan Syria Ayman Safadi

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