‘The US-led coalition cannot protect Israeli ships’ - top Houthi official

Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, have taken a center stage in the Middle East crisis since last week when the US and UK forces targeted the group’s facilities in Yemen.

The confrontation, which revolves around Houthi attacks on cargo ships passing from the Red Sea, has raised concern about a wider conflict, which can drag in regional powers including Iran.

Houthis, a confederation of various tribes, control large part of Yemen especially the area adjacent to Red Sea’s critical Bab el Mandeb Strait. The group says it has targeted Israel-linked shipping vessels in support of Palestinians.

TRT World spoke to Nasr al Din Amer, deputy information minister of the Ansarallah (Houthis) and the head of Yemen’s Saba news agency, on the escalating tension and what Houthis’ want to achieve.

The interview has been edited for the sake of clarity.

TRT World: Will the Houthi attacks on the shipping lines in the Red Sea continue?

Nasr al Din Amer: First, I’d take this opportunity to thank Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the stance he has taken, rejecting the American-British aggression against Yemen. We would also like to thank Turkish people for their support of the oppressed Palestinians.

In response to your question, yes, Yemen will continue to target Israeli ships and those ships that are heading to the ports in occupied Palestine as long as the aggression against Gaza continues. This is a humanitarian and religious position that we have taken for our brothers in Palestine.

The aggression of the United States and its coalition partners against Yemen will not be able to protect Israeli ships. The solution is for them to stop Israel’s military action and lift the siege from Gaza.

How will the Houthis respond to the US-UK attacks?

Nasr al Din Amer: As for the Yemeni response to the aggression against Yemen, it will be two pronged. Firstly, we will frustrate what they want to achieve with the attack on Yemen that is protecting Israeli ships. Therefore, we continue to target Israeli ships or those heading there.

The other step involves a direct response to the American-British aggression, and this is inevitable and definitive, as you must have followed this week when the Yemeni armed forces [Houthis] struck an American ship [the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a US-owned bulk ship] in the Gulf of Aden.

These operations will continue against the American warships in the vicinity. The warships are not here for helping with navigation or as part of maritime framework. Theirs is a hostile presence meant to target Yemen, and this is unacceptable.

Through you, we say to the American people and the British people, that their Zionist governments are risking their economy and the security of their interests in order to protect Israel. But it is the American and British people who will be harmed by their governments' aggressive policies.

What role does Iran play in the confrontation between the Houthis and the West?

Nasr al Din Amer: The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a distinguished role in supporting our Yemeni people, throughout the past nine years of war against Yemen. This was not strange on part of Iran, which is one of the largest supporters of the Palestinian people, and we are bound by Islamic brotherhood to them.

How do ordinary Yemenis view this West-Houthi confrontation in the Red Sea?

Nasr al Din Amer: The Yemenis view the American-British aggression as a blatant criminal act for which there is no justification. What Yemen is doing in preventing Israeli ships from passing through the Red Sea is a humanitarian deed that aims to lift the siege and stop the war on Gaza.

It is a principled stance taken by the Islamic brotherhood based on basic human values, and the Americans are trying to dissuade Yemen from doing so but they will not succeed.

The Yemenis showed where they stand on this when hundreds of thousands of people marched at the Sabeen Square in the capital, Sanaa, and in various Yemeni governorates to protest against the US-UK attack.

They declared their support for the leader of the revolution, Abdul Malik al Houthi, and the Yemeni army, by coming out in such large numbers. The Yemeni people are even pressing our leadership to respond to the American attack forcefully.

The Yemenis view the battle with the Americans as a holy battle, a jihad, and a promised conquest, God willing. We have full confidence in God Almighty, in whom we trust and in whom we seek help, and we are certain that God Almighty will grant us victory over them.

Because our cause is just, we support the oppressed Palestinian people who are experiencing the most heinous crimes happening against their children as their homes are being demolished, and their lands plundered.

Our trust in God has been proven and we have won a war before, and we will win this holy battle as well.

Is it safe for cargo vessels to pass through the Red Sea?

Nasr al Din Amer: A final message, we say through you to the whole world that navigation in the Arab and Red Seas is safe for all ships in the world, with the exception of the ships of the usurping Israeli entity and the ships heading to its ports in occupied Palestine.

There are hundreds of ships crossing the Bab el Mandeb Strait on a daily basis and claims about the dangers of navigation in the region are inaccurate British and American exaggeration.