A senior Saudi Foreign Ministry official yesterday accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis in Yemen to escalate their attacks against the kingdom, stressing that Tehran continues to ‘arm, train and support’ the terrorist militia.
“We believe that the escalation carried out by the Houthis in this latest phase of the conflict is being encouraged by Iran,” Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Qarmali said during a video briefing with journalists.
“Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.
Qarmali stressed that Riyadh had sought a diplomatic solution with the Houthi militia in Yemen while maintaining communication with Iran.
However, he said Tehran was unwilling to reach a settlement.
“We continue to communicate directly with Iran,” he said. “In general, it does not appear so far that the Iranians are able to make the necessary concessions to reach a solution.”
Qarmali also accused the Houthi militia of refusing to sit at the negotiating table and insisting on further escalation.
The terrorist Houthi militia carried out several attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia. Spokesman of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al Maliki revealed that the militia had carried out 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh since October 1, which resulted in 17 deaths and more than 330 injuries.
The coalition carried out a targeted operation in response to the attacks targeting airports and air navigation.
The coalition spokesman said the terrorist Houthi militia had attempted to target dozens of airports, oil facilities and ports across Saudi Arabia.
Attacks on civilian airports in the kingdom resulted in a total of around 19 deaths and 364 injuries, according to the latest official figures for victims of what he described as “Houthi aggression”.
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