Yemen reaffirms support for Iran against any potential aggression

“We once again emphasize our full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran and its right to defend itself,” Mahdi al-Mashat said in a statement on the Unity Day of Yemen on Thursday.

He also backed Iran’s right to run and control the Strait of Hormuz, prevent its use by adversaries and confront anything that causes insecurity and instability.

Al-Mashat noted that the US-Israeli aggression against Iran “stems from the idea of removing a major obstacle in the way of the projects and conspiracies of the Zionist-American enemy.”

He urged Muslim countries to unite rather than align with US and Israeli plots, stressing that regional countries shouldn’t allow their territory and airspace to be used for attacks against other nations in the region.

“Today neutrality is treason because facilitating the enemy is considered the greatest treason,” al-Mashat added.

He noted that Iran and other members of the Axis of Resistance have “exposed the weaknesses of the enemy, and provided a suitable opportunity to confront the enemy's bullying."

This comes amid escalating war rhetoric from US President Donald Trump, who has threatened in recent days to launch renewed strikes against Iran if indirect diplomatic discussions do not conclude in an agreement.

The US and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.

The US-Israeli aggression was launched as Tehran and Washington had held three rounds of indirect negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat and the Swiss city of Geneva and planned to open technical talks in Vienna, Austria.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the strikes by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases and interests in regional countries.

Iran also shut down the Strait of Hormuz to its enemies and their allies following the unprovoked aggression.

Iranian authorities introduced much stricter controls last month after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade targeting Iranian vessels and ports.

Elsewhere in his remarks, al-Mashat reiterated Yemen’s support for Palestine and Lebanon, calling on Arab and Muslim nations to take action to stop Israeli crimes there.

“We also warn the criminal Zionist regime about the consequences of continuing its aggression against the two nations of Palestine and Lebanon,” he stated.

Following the start of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza which killed at least 72,775 people, Yemen conducted retaliatory operations against Israel in solidarity with the Gazans.

Meanwhile, al-Mashat strongly condemned the decision by the breakaway region of Somaliland to normalize ties with Israel, warning of the danger this action poses to Yemen and the region.

He vowed that Sana’a will continue to fight until “every inch” of Yemen is liberated, stressing that “We are ready to confront any American or Zionist aggression in the future.”

“The Yemeni people will not return to the dark times of past government,” the official stressed.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 with the goal of suppressing a popular uprising that had toppled a Riyadh-friendly regime.

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have been defending the country since, and, over six years into the invasion, the Saudi-led forces remain bogged down in what has become Saudi Arabia’s Vietnam War.

The Saudi war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. The war has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases across the Arab country.