The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has condemned the US and UK’s overnight strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, as countries across the Middle East express fears over the latest escalation of the conflict in the region.
Although anxiety was widespread, most vocal were countries and militant groups backed by Tehran, which accused the US and the UK of destabilising the region.
In a statement issued in the immediate aftermath of the strikes, Hezbollah said it “strongly condemn[ed] the blatant American-British aggression” against Yemen, which it said had stood with the Palestinian people.
“The American aggression confirms once again that US is a full partner in the tragedies and massacres committed by the Zionist enemy in Gaza and in the region. It is the one that continues to support the machine of killing and destruction, and to cover up its aggression and crime and the attacks on everyone who stands by the oppressed Palestinian people throughout the region.”
Hezbollah, like the Houthis and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, has allied itself with Hamas in the war with Israel in Gaza, and has been involved in almost daily exchanges of fire with Israel across the Lebanon-Israel frontier since 8 October, the day after Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Iran itself was also quick to condemn the attacks. “These attacks are a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws. These attacks will only contribute to insecurity and instability in the region.”
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani described the strikes as “an arbitrary action”, adding that the international community should be taking action to prevent the spread of war.
Hamas itself said on Friday that it strongly condemned the strikes on Yemen, adding that the US and Britain would bear responsibility for their attack’s impacts on the security of the region.
But it was not only those seen as aligned with Iran who were expressing their concern on Friday.
Saudi Arabia, which has in recent months engaged in peace talks with Yemen’s Houthis, issued a statement calling for escalation to be avoided, adding it was monitoring the situation with “great concern”.
It said: “The kingdom emphasises the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, as the freedom of navigation in it is an international demand.”
Saudi is deeply concerned that the attacks will destabilise the delicate plans it has authored, and now passed to the UN, to create a new national Yemen government in which the Houthi rebels would be legitimised, allowing Riyadh to extricate itself from its nine-year effort to crush them.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, the site of a major US military base, had already urged the US not to resort to military action, saying: “From Qatar’s policy perspective, we never see a military action as a resolution. Our biggest worry is to have…
2024-01-12 05:28:44
Link from www.theguardian.com