Al-Houthi and who has the upper hand in Yemen... Prince Turki Al-Faisal assesses the situation on the ground

The former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, assessed the situation in Yemen, the extent of the influence of the Iran-backed Houthi group, and reports indicating that the Houthis have the upper hand after their recent advance and control over new sites. This came in an interview conducted by Turki Al-Faisal on “Boxcast” called “Arab View,” where he said: “It is still an ongoing conflict, with no end in sight yet in the so-called Houthi possession of the upper hand.”

He continued: "When the Houthis occupied Sana'a in 2013/2014, at that time it was also considered that the Houthis had the upper hand, but with the help of the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) and the coalition that the Kingdom established at that time, the legitimate government was able to maintain a presence not only in northern Yemen in Taiz, in Khamer and other areas, as well as in the eastern part of Yemen from Aden, passing through Hadramaut to the Yemeni-Omani border.." He added: "There was a ceasefire that the Houthis agreed to." In an attempt to negotiate a settlement, the Houthis recently violated this agreement and were able to expand their presence in areas on the Red Sea coast, but the legitimate government is resisting this expansion and we must wait and see what will happen and how this conflict will be resolved...” Prince Turki Al-Faisal went on to say: “I do not think we can just say that they (the Houthis) have achieved superiority in their progress. The story is still without an end.” Regarding the Houthi motives in his recent movements, Prince Turki Al-Faisal said: “I am sure that they are related to the events in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. The Iranian ambition was clearly expressed by Iran. They want to have a sovereign right over the Strait of Hormuz and consider it Iranian territory, and this is unacceptable not only from the point of view of Saudi Arabia but also from the point of view of international law..” He added: “All the straits in the region, Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, are international waterways and no country has sovereignty over them. We see the link. Here, Iran is trying to expand its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and they are pushing the Houthis to establish some kind of control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait on the other side of the Arabian Sea. Both of them are definitely linked, and I am sure that without Iranian support and encouragement, the Houthis would not have undertaken this work.”