Yemen: Two years of confronting Iran

The seizure of the capital Sanaa by the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was the end of Yemenis’ peaceful uprising and the beginning of the war. Back then, I had no doubt it would be long and harsh, because Saleh still had control over the armed forces, the Houthis receive instructions from Iran, and central authority in Yemen is absent.

Iran did not hide its involvement in the war from its early stages, because it saw that it was a regional war. They considered waging war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen as part of a geopolitical balance to the conflicts in Syria and Bahrain. Although many observers denied and mocked the idea of Iranian involvement at the start, they later acknowledged it.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have no other option in Yemen but to face the Iranians, who are fighting via Houthi and pro-Saleh militias. Some Iranian militants have been caught in the conflict zones. This war is to defend the Gulf countries against Iran’s expansion and threats.

Missiles fired by the Houthis against the Kingdom have proven concerns expressed at the start of the war that Saleh and the Houthis have a missile system that jeopardizes Saudi security. Later, international maritime forces captured missiles on Iranian ships heading to Yemeni ports — similar missiles are being used to target southern Saudi Arabia.

Two years since the war began, it is good to remember some facts. Saleh was ousted and a new political situation was established by the Yemeni people when they turned against him due to the failure of his tenure — one of the longest and most failed tenures worldwide.

Regime-change was not a wish or a plan put forward by the GCC countries, but an outcome of the Arab Spring that toppled Saleh in Yemen, Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia.

After the uprising’s arrival in Sanaa and due to fear of chaos, the UN managed the situation by appointing a special envoy to Yemen, who is assigned to achieve peace and propose a political project that is endorsed by the Gulf countries, the US and European powers.

The proposal was a democracy to be achieved by selecting the presidency and Parliament. It was endorsed by all Yemeni parties, and subsequently a transitional government was formed to prepare a constitution and elections. During this period, Saleh and the Houthis plotted their coup and took over Yemen, arresting most ministers and political leaders.

The only solution to the military coup was to respond militarily, after the rebels rejected all international mediation and additional concessions granted to them. They insisted on keeping power and their weapons, similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Yemen’s war, like others in the region, is not one between locals. It is funded and plotted by regional forces, Iran foremost among them. War was imposed on Yemenis as well as Saudis. Tehran cannot use Yemen as a base to attack its neighbors without a military response.