Saudi Arabian diplomat and former intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal recently lamented the weak response by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and Western countries to Yemen's Houthi terrorists disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Guardian Reported On Sunday, he dismissed “pinpoint bombing” as insufficient.
England Guardian The paper quoted Faisal as making the remarks at Chatham House in London where he was discussing the current turmoil in the Middle East. The Houthi terrorist group, which relies heavily on support from Saudi Arabia's longtime geopolitical rival Iran, dramatically expanded its international presence after Hamas massacred hundreds of civilians in Israel on October 7.
Following this attack, the Houthis declared war on Israel and vowed to attack all merchant ships they deemed Israeli-linked passing through the Red Sea, resulting in dozens of attacks on seemingly random ships, including those linked to the Houthis' allies, such as China and Iran, including some deadly attacks and the sinking of two ships.
As shipping and insurance costs soar because of Houthi activity, global shipping companies have been vocal in calling for the international community to do more to protect global trade. The primary response to that call has been the Pentagon-led international operation Operation Guardian of Prosperity, ostensibly aimed at protecting civilian ships transiting the Red Sea. The operation, which first went public in December, has few Red Sea partners and it's unclear whether any meaningful defense work has taken place in its name, leaving shipping leaders feeling abandoned by the Houthi threat.
Beyond Operation Guardian of Prosperity, President Biden has authorized limited strikes against Houthi military targets, but Al-Faisal reportedly dismissed the attacks, saying they would have little impact on the regional security situation.
“We have seen European and US fleets deployed along the Red Sea coast, but more could be done there to stop Iran from supplying weapons to the Houthis.” Guardian Al Faisal said: “International pressure on Iran could have a positive impact on the likelihood of the Houthis launching missiles and drones to damage international trade.”
The Saudi diplomat lamented that “pinpoint bombing” by U.S. and British forces has had little impact on the situation in the Red Sea. But he also criticized Iran for doing nothing to stop the Houthis from disrupting global trade. The Houthis, officially known as Ansarullah, could see their operations severely restricted if resources from Tehran dry up.
“The Houthis are now holding the world hostage at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab in the Red Sea, but Iran has not shown that it can do anything there if it wants to,” Al-Faisal said. “And the Saudis [Saudi Arabia] “We would have hoped that Iran would be more proactive in demonstrating to us, and to other countries, that it can be a positive factor in ensuring stability and resolving our differences, not just with Saudi Arabia, but with the rest of us.”
Saudi Arabia has been waging a military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen for years, ever since they seized control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014, sparking an ongoing civil war. Riyadh supports Yemen's legitimate government against Ansara Allah, the current self-declared government of Yemen. The campaign has led to the Houthis orchestrating major terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabian territory, including the bombing of major oil facilities.
The Saudi government relied on strong U.S. support under former President Donald Trump, but that support has dried up under his successor, President Joe Biden. Biden infuriated the Riyadh government with several steps, including removing the Houthis from the State Department's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations and halting the sale of offensive weapons to the Saudi military in response to alleged Saudi human rights abuses in Yemen. After the Houthi operation against Saudi merchant ships began, Biden told reporters that removing the Houthis from the list was “pointless,” as it would give them significantly more access to global fundraising.
The Iranian regime's support for the Houthis through its war with Saudi Arabia has drawn the two countries into a proxy war situation, further jeopardizing an already unstable Middle East situation. The Chinese Communist regime, seeking to expand its influence in the Middle East, eventually brokered a fragile agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to restore diplomatic relations in March 2023, leading to a ceasefire agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. September That year.
In his remarks on Friday, Al-Faisal suggested that Tehran brokered the terms of the normalization deal with China by condoning Houthi attacks on international trade.
The sentiment appeared to be echoed in Iran, where President Massoud Pezeshkian spoke about ties with Saudi Arabia at a press conference on Monday. Pezeshkian, a so-called “moderate,” was inaugurated as president on July 31 in special elections held after the death of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a mysterious helicopter crash in May. The inauguration was largely overshadowed by the assassination of Hamas “political” leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Iran for the ceremony.
“We are brothers, so there is no room for hostility,” Pezeshkian said. said At a press conference on Monday, the Saudi president said he “welcomes any move that can resolve differences between Muslims.”
The Iranian president also denied allegations that his country was supplying the Houthis with missiles to attack Israel. Houthi terrorists fired a surface-to-surface missile at Israel on Sunday, an unprecedented attack that injured five Israelis.
