WASHINGTON: Unrest in Yemen is being driven by “Iran’s hunger for power,” exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said Monday, urging Houthi rebels to sit down at the negotiating table.
“My country, Yemen, is under siege by radical Houthi militia forces whose campaign of horror and destruction is fueled by the political and military support of an Iranian regime obsessed with regional domination,” Hadi wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times.
“There is no question that the chaos in Yemen has been driven by Iran’s hunger for power and its ambition to control the entire region.” Hadi wrote: “Two weeks ago, Yemen was on the brink of the abyss.”
He added: “The unprecedented level of Arab and international support brought us back from the edge.”
“The message they are sending is clear: Iran cannot continue expanding at the expense of the integrity and security of other countries in the region,” Hadi added.
He stressed he had asked for the coalition’s help, and warned “if the Houthis do not withdraw and disarm their militia and rejoin the political dialogue, we will continue to urge the coalition to continue its military campaign against them.”
But Hadi also called on the rebel militia to come to talks about the country’s future.
“It is not too late to stop the devastation of my nation. The Houthis belong at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield terrorizing their fellow citizens,” Hadi said.
Chaos driven by Iranian ‘hunger for power’: Hadi
-
{{#bullets}}
- {{value}} {{/bullets}}