Yemen's Houthis are talking peace while warning of a wider war. The Iran-backed rebels are blaming Saudi Arabia for stalling negotiations even as they threaten countries that may join the kingdom's military campaign.
On Sunday, Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam accused Saudi Arabia of failing to honour previous agreements and delaying its response to proposals aimed at bringing peace to the Yemen.
In a post on X, he said the Houthis had communicated with Saudi Arabia “directly and indirectly” in June, demanding it “respond to what we had agreed upon in the road map before the Al Aqsa Flood and we presented more than one proposal, but unfortunately, it did not advance a single step”.
Al Aqsa Flood was the name of the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 hostages were taken to Gaza, before Israel launched a two-year war in the strip in which more than 74,300 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of thousands injured.
Meanwhile, Houthi politburo member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti told Qatar-based Al Arabi Television in an interview that the militia was open to ending the war.
“We welcome any mediation, Arab or Islamic, to reach peace, which entails ending the war and the blockade from both sides – whether from Iran, Pakistan or Turkey,” he said. In the same breath, he continued to threaten any country that enters the war alongside Saudi Arabia.
Egypt was the latest to suggest it is ready to provide the kingdom with assistance after the Houthis stepped up attacks on Saudi airports and oil sites last week, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds of others.
President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has requested an emergency session of Egypt's parliament to authorise the military to provide support to the kingdom. The vote has not yet taken place but approval of the plan would significantly widen the scope of the war.
There is scepticism about the Houthis' apparent change of heart, especially after the rebels seemingly started the escalation in August and subsequently advocated a continuation of the conflict.
“The Houthis tend to welcome mediation when they come under military pressure and suffer heavy losses,” wrote Nadwa Al Dawsari, associate fellow at the Middle East Institute. “But once a ceasefire is reached, they exploit it to regroup, replenish their ranks and prepare for the next offensive. For them, ceasefires are tactical pauses, not steps towards peace.”