Sanaa Clarifies Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Conflict: Not a Mediator

Sanaa has reiterated its clarification of the nature of ongoing negotiations with Riyadh, emphasizing that Saudi Arabia is not a mediator but a major party in the conflict. This comes as a response to repeated attempts by enemy media and its officials to mislead public opinion regarding the Saudi stance and to perpetuate the myth of a “civil war” aimed at providing an excuse to evade peace commitments.

A member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, stated on Monday that “dialogue with the Saudis comes as they lead the aggression after the United States, and it is based on this foundation. The results will be announced to the Yemeni people through official channels.” Meanwhile, a member of the Political Bureau of Ansar Allah, Governor of Dhamar Province, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, argued that “there is no need to search for unrealistic interpretations to justify negotiations between Sanaa and Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is not a mediator but a party in the conflict.”

These affirmations come at a time when Saudi Arabia tries to present itself in the media as a “peace broker between Yemenis,” a falsehood seen by observers as an attempt by Riyadh to save face, while others view it as an indicator of Saudi Arabia’s continued reluctance to genuinely pursue peace and to mislead public opinion.

Al-Houthi commented on the hostile media distortions, stating that “with every round of talks, the enemy deliberately spreads leaks and rumors to undermine internal unity and demonize those defending the homeland.” He further clarified that “talks have not strayed from the humanitarian file, including salaries, the withholding of which has been one of the coalition’s weapons to destroy the Yemeni state and punish the Yemeni people.”

Al-Houthi asserted that Sanaa is “ready for all options, whether it is going to be peace or war.” He also welcomed the Saudi regime’s decision to allow ships to reach the port of Aden without inspection, considering it a “fruit of steadfastness in the face of aggression.”

On Monday, Saudi Arabia renewed its attempts to mislead public opinion through its ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, who is visiting Sanaa at the head of the Saudi negotiating delegation. Al Jaber claimed that his country’s delegation visit is part of the “Saudi initiative announced in 2021 to discuss ways of negotiation between Yemeni components,” ignoring the role of the Saudi regime as a major and leading party in the aggression.

Thus, the inaccurate descriptions that the enemy tries to establish will not change the necessity of their commitment to the actual determinants of peace, which include ending the aggression, lifting the blockade, withdrawing foreign forces, paying compensation, and repairing the damage.

The leader of the revolution, Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, previously emphasized in a speech that attempts to present Saudi Arabia in a mediating role would be futile, explaining that “one cannot turn from a leader of war and executor of offensive operations against our country to a mere mediator.”

He added that Sanaa “will not exempt the aggression coalition from the obligations it has, which are legitimate entitlements for the Yemeni people.”

This is not the first time that the countries of the aggression coalition and their patrons have tried to present themselves as mediators to evade responsibility for the crimes committed against the Yemeni people and to mislead public opinion. They have attempted for years to establish this false narrative and describe what is happening in Yemen as a “civil war,” but this has never succeeded in exempting them from the consequences of aggression and blockade.