In an exclusive interview with the London-based Al-Hayat Newspaper, President Ali Abdullah Saleh pointed out that several countries are looking for roles to play in Yemen including Libya and Qatar which acted as mediators between the government and Houthi followers.
President Saleh noted that the Qatari mediation ended and a local mediation committee has taken over its tasks; however, there were some negative effects for the mediation, which in result made Houthis act as if they are peers for the state.
He stressed that some support is secured by some elements in Hezbollah, maintaining that Houthis were trained by some Hezbollah experts on how to make and use grenades, mines and arms. However, he did not hint to the involvement of Hezbollah leaderships in the process.
Saleh also accused Iran of trying to play a different role in Yemen, especially when they provide coverage and promote the Houthi activities in Sa’ada province.
In this regard, Saleh revealed that Iran’s rise is driven by the absence of Arab unity, noting that all Arab doors and windows are wide open – or better broken – and this allows countries like Iran to impose itself in Arabs’ internal affairs.
Saleh added that it is not a secret that Iran is trying to turn Arab people into Shiites and it has been trying to do so since the eruption of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. It has also been trying to export the revolution, but it has not been very successful.
Acting on his capacity as the President, Saleh noted that he took a decision to stop the war in Sa’ada, and the Houthi elements, according to the ceasefire plan, were supposed to abandon and evacuate their mountainous positions, to restore back what has been pillaged from state buildings and not to interfere with the local authorities because it is the sole business of the state.
As to the financial and media support, President Saleh disclosed that a large proportion of support is local and it is secured by people who are unhappy about the ruling system including Imamates, Communists, Marxists, etc.
 

ABOUT Yemen Post Publisher & Chief Editor:

Hakim Almasmari is an American journalist and Middle East expert based in Sana'a, Yemen. His work has appeared for many of the worlds top media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Post, AlJazeera, Fox News, The Guardian, The National, USA Today among numerous others. He has also worked with some of the world’s top organizations. Reporting out of Yemen for nearly eight years, he is the current editor in chief for the Yemen Post. He is a university lecturer in the field of international media and also studied business and law. Considered one of the top experts on Yemen, Almasmari has closely worked with international strategic centers and think tanks helping them better understand Yemen. He is a frequent guest on many international TV outlets discussing current local and international affairs. Almasmari's ancestors are from Yemen, and was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His mother tongue is English and is fluent in Arabic.