Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group and member of the Political Council in Sanaa (Reuters)
Sanaa
- A prominent leader in the Ansar Allah Houthi group reduced the impact of the American-British strikes on their military positions, whether in the capital, Sanaa, the city of Hodeidah, and other governorates.
He described the air and missile strikes, which are entering their second month on governorates in Yemen under the group’s control, as “failed.” This Houthi leader confirmed that they are not afraid of any American-British ground military move to control the coasts of Yemen located on the Red Sea.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council in Sanaa, said, “The ground war is what the Yemeni people want.”
He added defiantly, "If the United States sends forces to Yemen, it will face more difficult challenges than those it faced in Afghanistan and Vietnam. Our people are flexible and prepared, and they have options to defeat the Americans strategically in the region."
Muhammad Ali, a cousin of Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, leader of the Ansar Allah group, explained that “the message of the operations of the Yemeni armed forces (in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden) is to stop Israeli brutality and the crime of genocide of the people of Gaza, which the Americans continue to protect, support and participate in.”
Below is the text of the interview:
Armed Houthi elements during the operation to seize a ship owned by an Israeli businessman (French)
For the second month, the American-British attacks on Hodeidah and other governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, continue. Did these strikes undermine Ansar Allah’s military capabilities, especially missile capabilities? What did you achieve in return in terms of supporting the resistance and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip?
The American-British attacks on our country, whether by air strikes or missiles, were failures and achieved nothing. This was confirmed by Commander Abdul Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi - may God protect him - in his last speech, where he stressed that it did not affect the capabilities of the Yemeni armed forces and did not limit its missile capabilities.
On the contrary, it had an impact in developing its military capabilities, and this is clear and is felt by the Americans and the British through the continuation and diversification of its operations in the Red Sea or the Arabian Sea (Arab Sea), as well as the continuation of its missile operations targeting the Israeli enemy entity in the occupied city of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat). .
As for what the Yemeni armed forces have achieved in supporting the resistance and the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, their operations at sea are effective and effective, thanks to God Almighty.
Today, there is a state of despair among the Israeli enemy about the possibility of its ships or the ships following it in the Red Sea passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. It has previously admitted that there has been a paralysis in the port of Umm al-Rashrash, and its media outlets are constantly talking about the heavy losses that have befallen its economy as a result of these operations.
We stand in support of the Palestinian brothers as a moral duty, a commitment of faith, and a fraternal feeling. Our position has had a great impact at all levels. You, at Al Jazeera Network, can monitor and count this impact and make it available to the Arab and Islamic public and to the free people of the world as investigative media material that is at the core of the work of any professional media organization.
You announced the funeral of 17 officers in Sanaa, on Saturday, who were martyred in the American-British raids. How would you respond to that?
These heroes from the group of martyrs are among the vanguard in this battle, and they are martyrs who won a great victory while performing a sacred mission and a great duty, and God will achieve, with their blood, God Almighty willing, great and important results.
As for the American side, it will bear the consequences and repercussions of this brutal, criminal attack, which will inevitably be dire. We affirm that this criminal attack will not dissuade our people of all categories, armed forces, and official agencies from continuing to perform this mission of solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people as a holy jihad for the sake of God. The American will only increase our determination, determination and resolve to remain steadfast due to the crimes he committed.
The US ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Fagin, said that the decision to classify Ansar Allah as a “global terrorist group” will come into effect on February 16 if you do not stop your attacks against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. What is your comment?
What the American must understand is that we are protecting humanity with these operations, and that the mission of the Yemeni armed forces’ operations is to stop Israeli brutality and the crime of genocide of the people of Gaza, which the American continues to protect, support and participate in. He and the usurping Israeli entity are the ones who deserve to be classified as terrorists.
The Americans pre-empted the classification by killing us in order to protect Israel’s ships, and militarized the sea, terrorized international shipping, and disturbed world peace with its declared barbaric military terrorist operations against the Republic of Yemen, in which it tried to impose its hegemony in order to support terrorism in Gaza, so that the Israelis would continue the massacres without disturbance.
What would add to the classification of an enemy fighting alongside an enemy who was proven, even before the Hague Tribunal, to commit the crime of genocide and who was unable to refute the evidence of his committing it in Gaza? Whoever protects the criminal cannot be a soldier to protect morality. America's bloody history does not give it the right to classify others as the British colonial history and the Israeli record, which are full of crime and massacres.
On February 19, the European Union countries will launch a military mission called “ASPEEDS,” in which battleships and frigates will participate to protect navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, led by Greece. How do you view this mission?
It is not in the interest of any country to be fooled by American deception and deception. The barbaric British and American terrorist attacks on our country are nothing but to protect the ships of the Israeli occupier. There is no need or legitimacy to militarize the Red Sea and ignite wars in the region, as the results will be adverse, and this country and others like it will be partners with America and Britain in threatening and harming international maritime navigation, and they will bear the consequences with them, and the cost will be heavy for them.
If any country has concerns about its ships and maritime navigation, it can dispel it with more coordination, instead of getting involved in a war in which it has no choice but to do so.
We do not target these ships because of the limited weapons possessed by the Israeli entity, America and Britain, but because of their genocide against the people of Gaza and their role in protecting and continuing its crimes there.
Therefore, we advise any country to beware of America dragging it into involvement in the Red Sea in the service of Zionism, as it will put itself in a predicament that it does not need, as it will inflict great damage on itself and its economy without result, and it must take a lesson from the failed American and British experience in this context.
If they failed - despite their powerful arsenal and advanced technologies - to protect their ships, destroyers and battleships, in addition to their failure to provide protection for Israeli ships, then the participation of other countries will only be a participation in military, political and moral failure and defeat, and an increase in tension and threat to navigation in the Red Sea, and it has not and will not work. Useful.
We say to the European Union countries that the solution lies in pressure to stop the aggression and end the siege on Gaza, as this is consistent with principles, values and morals.
Raids targeting the Dune area in Hodeidah, western Yemen (Al Jazeera)
What about the steps that Ansar Allah could take if the Israeli aggression against Gaza escalates, especially the invasion of Rafah, or the American-British attacks on Yemen expand?
Our path will be escalation, as Mr. Leader announced in his last speech. The continuation of crime and aggression in Gaza and the aggression against our people will have no result in their interest. Our operations are continuing and will continue, and we are confident in God’s victory. There is no point for the Americans or the British to attack our country. The only feasible solution is for food and medicine to reach the people of Gaza and to stop genocide crimes there.
Some media reports say that there is an American-British intention to launch a ground operation aimed at occupying the coastal strip of Yemen on the Red Sea. How do you view such trends?
A ground war is what the Yemeni people want, as they will face those who bear responsibility for their suffering for 9 years. As Mr. Leader of the Revolution said, if the United States sends forces to Yemen, it will face more difficult challenges than those it faced in Afghanistan and Vietnam, and our people are flexible and prepared, and they have options to defeat the Americans strategically in the region.
The American was previously advised not to enter into a naval war with Yemen, and we warned him against that, and today the world sees his failure and knows that his claims of achieving influence are mere illusions.
If he commits foolishness - as I mentioned by launching a ground aggression - then he will drown, and the consequences of the foolishness, God willing, will be greater than what befell him in Afghanistan, Vietnam, or any of his other senseless wars. The Americans have learned of the valor of the Yemeni people. The Yemeni, God willing, knows how to take revenge on the Americans and the British who are behind their impoverishment, siege, and fighting for 9 years.
There are accusations that Ansar Allah is one of Iran's arms, and is implementing Tehran's agenda by igniting the Red Sea for international shipping?
This is a broken record that has been answered in previous dialogues and interviews with most media outlets, and it is enough that the American enemy is the only one promoting it with those who move them.
Did the events in the Red Sea and the American-British attacks eliminate the settlement efforts between Ansar Allah and the Yemeni government whose efforts are led by Saudi Arabia, especially the road map that UN envoy Hans Grundberg recently spoke about?
The person who announced it is asked about this. However, we advise that delaying implementation is useless and may produce military results, in which they will be the losers.
With the American-British attacks, there were calls from some activists for national unity in Yemen to confront the dangers of the repercussions of the developments of these events. Do you have any perceptions regarding this matter?
National alignment is a positive thing that we welcome within the framework of the public interest, and we have formed committees for Yemeni reconciliation that are constantly working on that. The Qur’anic faith culture calls us to unite to uphold the word of God and struggle for the sake of God, and popular culture calls us to unite as well.
Source: Al Jazeera