prepared”CNNA report on Monday reveals Yemen’s and oil dossiers’ reflection on US-Saudi relations, and says the failure to renew the armistice in Yemen, between the Iranian-backed Houthi group and the internationally recognized government backed by a Riyadh-led military coalition could further complicate US-Saudi relations.
After six months of relative calm, warring parties in Yemen were unable to renew the armistice agreement last week as UN and US calls for an extension remained blank.
With one side supported by Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia, questions are being raised as to whether the US will support its ally in the Middle East following the massive cut in oil production last week, by OPEC Plus, which it is seen as “a contempt of the oil-rich kingdom for the Biden administration.” Ahead of the mid-term elections in the United States, according to CNN.
The Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition agreed on a nationwide truce in April, the first since 2016. The two-month truce was renewed twice but expired last week and the Houthis said they had reached a dead end.
American concern
AndThe United States Special Envoy to YemenTimothy Lenderking, expressed US concern that the Houthis did not accept the UN proposal to extend the armistice in Yemen, which expired on 2 October.
Lenderking revealed “extreme demands” made by the Houthis, who insisted on paying salaries first to their military and security elements, while positive talks were underway about paying the salaries of Yemeni civil servants. She explained that this created an obstacle that was very difficult for the other side to think about and was completely unreasonable.
The US special envoy to Yemen said in a conference call last week that it is very important for the Houthis to return to the table and not miss the opportunity for teachers, nurses and civil servants to get paid because of these high demands.
He expressed his confidence in the possibility of extending the truce “if the Houthis turn away from the very high demands they actually imposed at the last minute, after withdrawing from their commitments earlier in the process”. “Could it be related to Iran? The answer is we don’t know,” Lenderking asked.
“The unknown reasons for not renewing the truce are that the Iranians have directly asked the Houthis to help step up things in the region,” said Majid al-Madhaji, executive director of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies.
“The Iranians and the Houthis are in a difficult political situation, and the Iranians are under tremendous pressure amid violent protests at home and may try to keep their opponents in the Gulf away by keeping them worried about the Yemeni conflict,” al- Madhaji told CNN.
The Houthis have already warned investors to stay away from Saudi Arabia and the UAE because they are “risky” – a message seen as a direct threat that the Iranian-backed group is ready to hit them again.
“With the Houthis, it’s always dangerous not to take their threats seriously,” Peter Salisbury, consultant for the International Crisis Group, told CNN.
In the past, the Houthis have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, mainly targeting oil fields and airports. Last March, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on an Aramco oil storage facility in Jeddah. In January, they claimed to be behind a drone strike on fuel trucks near Abu Dhabi airport.
Saudi Arabia has expressed alarm to its powerful security ally, the United States, over the attacks, criticizing the Biden administration for what it saw as the declining presence of American security in the volatile Middle East.
Gulf states’ security concerns have been exacerbated by talks about relaunching the nuclear deal with Iran, which could lead to the lifting of economic sanctions in Tehran, fearing that this will lead to the strengthening and arming of its delegates regional, mostly Houthis, according to CNN.
He says Saudi Arabia’s strongest security ally is the United States, and traditionally the unwritten deal between the two countries has been oil for security, particularly against Iranian hostility.
But now, as Saudi Arabia challenges the United States with its latest oil cut by OPEC, relations between the two countries are increasingly strained. Salisbury said that with the reluctance already present in Congressional policies to increase military support for Saudi Arabia, it is unclear whether the United States will respond quickly with support from its Middle East ally should a spiral of violence erupt.
Threatening to stop the sale of weapons
AndThreatens the chairman of the foreign affairs committee In the US Senate, influential Senator Bob Menendez on Monday to block all future arms sales to Saudi Arabia, for his “support” for the Russian war in Ukraine, with his decision, within the framework of the alliance ” OPEC Plus “, to reduce oil production.
In a statement, Menendez said: “There is simply no room for double face in this conflict: either support the rest of the free world in its quest to stop a war criminal from wiping an entire country off the map, or support he.”
The senator, known for his outspoken criticism of Riyadh, added that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has chosen the second option with a terrible decision motivated by economic interest”.
“The United States should immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and any security cooperation beyond what is strictly necessary to defend American personnel and interests.”
The influential Democratic Senator stressed that “as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not give the green light to any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom has reassessed its position on the war in Ukraine. Enough.”
This position is the latest in a series of similar positions issued by members of Congress calling for a review of relations between Washington and Riyadh. But what makes Menendez’s position even more important is that it comes from the chairman of the committee giving the green light to any arms sales abroad.
