Houthis spokesman: US guards Israel, not the world

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the spokesperson for the Houthis, told Reuters that the US strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen are unjustified, emphasizing that the movement will continue to respond to them.

He mentioned that the group only targeted Israeli ships or those heading to Israel within what he described as the "natural right of Yemen in the face of international regional waters."

He pointed out that US intervention has added "more escalation."

Abdul-Salam considered the US strikes "exaggerated and unjustified," describing the American stance as "guarding Israel, not the world."

He said, "The strikes on Yemen, from our perspective, are a blatant violation of Yemen's sovereignty and a serious aggression against the Yemeni people."

"What the Yemeni people did initially was target Israeli ships heading to Israel without any human or even significant material losses, just preventing the ships from passing as a natural right for Yemen in front of international, regional waters."

The Houthi spokesperson said that the movement benefits from Iranian expertise in military manufacturing but denied that Iran controls the decisions made by the group.

He said, "We do not deny that we have a relationship with Iran, and we have benefited from the Iranian experience in manufacturing and military infrastructure, naval and air, and others... But the decision made by Yemen is an independent decision unrelated to any other party."

He continued: " It came after great popular pressure not only in Yemen but in the region, demanding the governments of the region and their leaders to have a position towards what the Palestinian people are facing from a genocide war."

Regarding whether the group received a request from Iran to stop the attacks, Abdul-Salam answered, "So far, we have not received any comment from the Iranians... and I think they will not make such a request, especially since Iran's declared position is to support Yemen and condemned the American and British strikes on Yemen, considering Yemen's position as honorable and responsible."

He reiterated that the movement does not seek escalation, saying, "We do not want the escalation to expand... and we have imposed rules of engagement in which not a single drop of blood has fallen, and no significant material losses have occurred, only pressure on Israel and not on any country in the world."

However, he threw the ball into the court of the United States, saying that "Yemen is meaningful in responding and maintaining its position by preventing Israeli ships from heading to the occupied Palestinian territories" as long as American attacks continue.

Regarding the impact of the conflict on the region, he described the position of the countries that called for stability and expressed their disapproval of the escalation as "positive and supportive of not expanding the conflict."

Abdul-Salam added, "We believe that Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as long as they adhere to this principle, will be outside this conflict, as long as they do not participate with the United States in any attack or support any attack. We find no justification for taking any action against them."

He called on them to reject the militarization of the Red Sea or the presence of military forces within the region, considering it a threat to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and the countries in the region.

Abdul-Salam emphasized the Houthis' commitment to their position, which aims for security and stability in the region, and reiterated that the response "will only target the American and British."

Regarding Bahrain's participation in American operations, he said, "We believe that Bahrain, as a system or as a participant, has no significant role... and in the event of any response, it will only target the bases used by the Americans in Bahrain."

He pointed out that the truce project with Saudi Arabia is ongoing, saying, "We are in positive communication with our brothers in Saudi Arabia, and the ceasefire is permanent and ongoing, and we continue efforts in this direction."

Reuters