Cash-Strapped Riyadh Regime Seeking to Quit War on Yemen: Iran’s Ex-Envoy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s former envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) highlighted the Saudi regime’s economic problems and said Riyadh is seeking to create a “proper psychological atmosphere” to get out of its costly war on Yemen.
“The war (on Yemen) is naturally a serious structural threat to Saudi Arabia and its budget, given the plummeting oil prices and its budget deficit,” Sabah Zanganeh, who is also an expert on Middle East developments, said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
Recent remarks made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on abandoning the war on Yemen indicates attempts at creating a “proper psychological atmosphere” to end the war, the former diplomat said.
Bin Salman has told two former American officials that he “wants out” of the two-year war he started in Yemen, and that he is not against US rapprochement with Iran, according to leaked emails published by the Middle East Eye.
The leaks pertain to discussions he held on the Middle East with Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, and Steven Hadley, who served as US national security adviser during George W Bush's presidency.
The conversation took place at least one month before Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing it of trying to undermine their war in Yemen and for having friendly relations with Iran.
Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Riyadh regime for more than two years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Over 12,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.
