Houthis: Saudi-Iran deal has no impact on Yemen war, we are not subordinate to Tehran

Saudi Arabia’s normalization agreement with Iran will have no impact on the Yemen war because the Houthis are not “subordinate” to Tehran, a spokesman of the Iran-backed militia told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV.

“Saudi Arabia must know that our relationship with Iran is not one of subordination. It is an Islamic brotherly relationship. Resolving the Yemen issue [can only be achieved through negotiations] between Sanaa and Riyadh, and not Tehran and Riyadh,” said member of the Houthis’ political wing Abdulwahab al-Mahbashi.

Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on Friday a landmark agreement brokered by China to re-establish diplomatic ties and reopen embassies after seven years of heightened tensions, backing opposing sides in regional conflicts and supporting differing parties in political rows across the Middle East.

The war in Yemen, since its eruption in 2014, has been a battlefield where the two warring sides were backed by Riyadh on one hand and Tehran on the other. Saudi Arabia backed the internationally recognized Yemeni government and formed an Arab Coalition to support it militarily against the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

It has been long-established by both Arab and Western governments that Iran provided weapons to the Houthi militia – which the latter used to carry out cross-border attacks mainly targeting Saudi Arabia and the UAE. US and British navies in the region have repeatedly over the years intercepted many shipments of Iranian-made weapons on vessels heading to Yemen.

Al-Mahbashi said: “Even if Saudi Arabia signed a joint defense agreement and [formed a] military alliance with Iran, that wouldn’t protect it from us, so long as it continues its aggression against us.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Sunday the breakthrough reproachment agreement with Saudi Arabia normalizing ties will help bring about a political resolution to the war in Yemen, state news agency IRNA reported.

Al-Mahbashi added that despite Saudi Arabia’s deal with Iran, the Kingdom was unlikely to normalize ties with the groups that are aligned with Iran such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or Palestinian “resistance movements” – referring to Hamas and other anti-Israel groups. Gulf countries have long accused Iran of fanning the flames of violence in the Middle East through financial and military support to its network of Shia proxies in the region, specifically in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.