Iranian Deputy FM: Houthis Able but Not in Favor of Conquering Entire Yemen

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian underlined Saudi Arabia’s failure in war against Yemen, and said the Houthis have the upper hand but don’t want to impose their will on the entire country.

“At present, the Houthis are controlling 20 of the 21 Yemeni provinces, but they don’t want to conquer Yemen and are strenuously fighting the ISIL and al-Qaeda militarily; once political talks end, the Yemenis will take the needed action (for choosing their fate), hence, there will be no problem in Yemen if the Saudi attacks stop,” Amir Abdollahian said, addressing a gathering in the Central city of Qom on Sunday.

Stressing Riyadh’s failure in achieving its goals through military operations, he said the Yemeni tribes are now in the Saudi territories and attack the Saudi military bases.

“The ISIL is also now conducting blasts in Saudi Arabia which well proves Saudi Arabia’s failure in its attack on Yemen,” Amir Abdollahian said.

In relevant remarks in May, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem underlined the Yemeni people and revolutionaries’ high resistance power, and stressed that they will gain victory against the Saudi aggressors.

Addressing a ceremony to commemorate martyrs in Beirut, Qassem described the Saudi-led strikes against Yemen as an instance of “real crime at this era”.

He also referred to the similarities between the Zionists’ attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the Saudi aggression of Yemen, and said, “Saudi Arabia has made an aggression against Yemen. Now are the Yemenis not entitled to the right right to defend themselves?”

“Yemen will gain victory and the nation are able to resist more than what is imagined and they prefer to die than to be humiliated by the US and Saudi Arabia,” Qassem was quoted as saying by al-Ahd news website.

The Ansarullah fighters and army troops have made major advances in their fight against the Saudi-backed al-Qaeda terrorists and forces loyal to fugitive President Mansour Hadi across Yemen in recent months.

The clashes between the Ansarullah fighters and the Saudi-backed al-Qaeda terrorists as well as the pro-Hadi militias continue in the Southern and Northern parts of the country as Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 81 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

The Monarchy’s attacks have so far claimed the lives of at least 4,578 civilians, mostly women and children.