Saudi Ambassador to Yemen: Kingdom Will Continue to Protect Its Territory and Support Yemen and Its Legitimate Government
Mohammed Al-Jaber Condemns the Houthis and Affirms Saudi Support for Peace and Stability
Translated by Qiyas from كونا — Original source
Aden, October 20 (KUNA) -- Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, affirmed on Tuesday that the Kingdom will continue to protect its security, territory, and ships, and to support the Yemeni people and its legitimate government until peace, stability, development, and prosperity are achieved.
In a statement posted on his official account on the X platform, Al-Jaber said that the Houthi militias are evading the requirements of national dialogue and the road map, and are plunging Yemen into regional conflicts that do not serve the interests or basic needs of its people. He added that Yemen does not belong to the Houthi militias and that the city of Taiz will not be held hostage to their project, emphasizing that Yemen deserves a stable state, effective institutions, regular salaries, open roads, and peace that safeguards the dignity of its citizens.
The Saudi ambassador accused the Houthi militias of exploiting crises to escalate tensions, obstructing political processes, and leveraging the suffering of Yemenis for political pressure, while portraying themselves as victims and ignoring the responsibility for their decisions and their repercussions on the country. He pointed out that Houthi practices have exhausted the Yemeni people and dragged the country into conflicts and adventures that serve external agendas at the expense of citizens’ needs and the requirements of peace.
He noted that the Houthi militias are besieging civilians in Taiz and blocking roads, thereby worsening their suffering and hindering their access to food and medicine, questioning how peace can be spoken of under such a siege, airport disruptions, and bloodshed. He clarified that the airport was operational and flights were running through it before the Houthi militias detained four Yemenia Airlines aircraft in June 2024, which ultimately led to the destruction of the airport and the four planes in May 2025.
He mentioned that initiatives to resume flights included leasing aircraft under the supervision of Yemenia Airlines and a Jordanian initiative to operate flights between Amman and Sanaa, both of which were met with rejection or new conditions, raising questions about who is responsible for the airport’s disruption.
On the economic front, Al-Jaber stated that the port of Hodeidah receives daily shipments of food, medicine, fuel, and commercial goods. He accused the Houthi militias of diverting port revenues and state resources from telecommunications, taxes, customs, and zakat to finance their military activities, while refusing to pay employees’ salaries and shirking responsibility for services in areas under their control.
He cited a report by the UN Panel of Experts, which indicated that the Houthi militias exploit their control over the telecommunications sector to raise funds to finance drones and coastal forces through millions of text messages. The report estimated customs duties collected on fuel imported via the port of Hodeidah at approximately 994 billion rials (about $4.2 billion) between April 2022 and June 2024, while estimating the militias’ income from the telecommunications sector at around 1.34 trillion rials ($5.6 billion).
The Saudi ambassador further noted that the Houthis earn approximately $2 billion annually from oil smuggling and divert these funds for military purposes. (End) S.N.S. / R.J.
