Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, March 31
“While the world focuses on fighting the coronavirus epidemic and saving lives, the Houthis have been carrying out the orders of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by attacking innocent civilians.” This is how the American ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gen. John Abizaid, opened his remarks in response to the Houthi missile attack on the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week. These rocket attacks on Saudi civilian neighborhoods were launched by Houthi terrorist militias from the cities of Sanaa and Saada toward civilian targets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was a rather surprising attack after the Saudi coalition forces announced a temporary ceasefire to help the Yemeni people deal with the coronavirus epidemic. The source of amazement is not only because the Houthis reneged on a truce of goodwill but also because they recently agreed on a prisoner exchange deal with Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the fact of the matter, whether we like it or not, is that the Houthi criminals who take orders from Tehran and Beirut are not concerned with the health of Yemeni people. The Houthis are only focused on their culture of death and annihilation. Sadly, this turn of events also reveals the utter naiveté of the United Nations, led by Secretary-General Guterres. The UN oversaw the efforts to facilitate a temporary ceasefire in Yemen while ignoring clear signs that Iran will take advantage of it to attack Saudi Arabia. The Houthi militias view the coronavirus epidemic as a unique opportunity to increase their efforts and gain momentum, not as a humanitarian truce. Those who refuse to understand this basic fact or turn a blind eye to it are empowering extremists at the expense of innocent civilians. We must be realistic in our actions. Wishful thinking will not suffice. –Meshari Al-Dhaidi (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)