The new president reverses another decision by his predecessor Trump, and will stop treating the Yemeni militia as a terrorist organization • Saudi Arabia tries to reconcile, Iran recognizes weakness
Last Friday, the US State Department issued a statement that caused quite a bit of controversy: The Houthi rebels have been removed from the list of terrorist organizations to which they were added in the last days of the Trump administration.
Documentation: The Houthi attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia
This move was part of the United States' hawkish policy against Iran during the administration.
It began with Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, continued economic sanctions on Tehran and culminated in the assassination of Quds Force commander in the Revolutionary Guards, General Qassem Suleimani, at the airport in early 2020.
The decision will allow for humanitarian aid
Democratic Democrat Sen. Christopher Murphy explained that the decision to remove the Houthi militia from the list of terrorist organizations would save lives.
He said the previous decision did not affect the Houthis at all, but indirectly prevented food deliveries and vital aid to the Yemeni population, as well as effective negotiations between the warring parties. This is a fundamental issue, as more than 16 million Yemenis are expected to suffer from various degrees of starvation This year.
Arab newspapers have recently expressed great interest in the Biden administration's intentions to bring an end to the war in Yemen, which has so far claimed the lives of 110,000 people.
Biden not only removed the Houthis from the list of terrorist organizations, but also announced that his country would stop helping Saudi Arabia's leading Arab coalition since 2015, and work to stop a ceasefire and open a political dialogue between Riyadh, the United Arab Emirates and the southern government, and the Houthis.
A commentator affiliated with the Iranian Axis noted that not only was the decision quite predictable in light of Biden's positions, but also the onslaught of smiles from senior Saudi officials and the UAE who praised the president.
It was not because these countries were interested in ending the war, but because on the one hand the decision of the President of the United States could not be rejected outright, and on the other hand the opportunity presented to Saudi Arabia to escape the security entanglement that had failed miserably.
However, the writer clarified: without the withdrawal of coalition forces and the lifting of the siege, the war is here to stay.
Another Houthi-affiliated source wrote that if the Biden administration is serious about its intentions, the cessation of support is expected to last between three and five months, while Saudi Arabia will not be able to act alone.
Against this background, it seems that the pro-Iranian axis intends to intensify military operations in Yemen.
"Iran's operational capability - particularly advanced"
A security report released today warns that Iran's operational capability in Yemen is particularly advanced.
Indeed, the defense establishment has been warning in recent months against Iranian action against Israel to leave this arena, which led to the deployment of the Iron Dome system in the Eilat area.
For the Saudis, this threat is everyday.
Just two days ago, Saudi coalition officials announced the interception of an armed UAV launched from Yemen by the Houthis.
Despite this, Riyadh maintains cautious optimism when it comes to the United States.
An article in the popular Saudi newspaper, al-Sharq al-Awsat, said that the first hundred days of Biden were an "experimental balloon", and that the really important decisions would not be made at this stage.
The author, Amal 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hazani, estimated that the decision to remove the Houthis from the list of terrorist organizations was not as significant as they thought, since the move was made in light of the humanitarian situation in the divided country.
She said the new administration was interested in exploring a different approach and therefore appointed Tim Lindering as a special envoy to Yemen.
And yet, al-Hazani notes that in the Gulf they see during the success of what they define as "Houthi blackmail."
"The decision - mainly symbolic"
"It's not like the operations are going to be suspended because of this," a colleague at the London Research Institute told the New York Times when it came to ending US support for the Saudi coalition.
According to Paris al-Muslimi, "the Gulf states already have a lot of weapons, so the decision is symbolic in many ways."
Another Yemeni Human Rights Watch researcher, Afrah Nasser, told the American newspaper that even if the United States' weapons remained out of the equation, there were now more than 30 fronts of fighting between different factions in the region.
Most of all, the signals from Washington only confirm the views of the major parties in the war.
Saudi Arabia believes it is best to appease the Biden administration and minimize damage as much as possible.
Iran and its allies do not take the statements seriously and focus on increasing pressure.
As far as the Islamic Republic is concerned, the United States should be drawn into the nuclear agreement, and economic sanctions should be lifted as soon as possible.
If the conflict in Yemen serves this great purpose, it will only intensify.
